The Day With Wolfram
by jam2599
Summary: ch 8 up. Yuuri is curious as to what Wolfram's up to. How does Wolfram feel about Yuuri's prying? YuuRam, confrontation with Wolfram's past, light NCS later
1. The First Day

The Day with Wolfram

Shibuya Yuuri awoke, earlier than usual, with his right foot on his bed and the rest of his body on the floor of his bedroom. His ANNOYINGLY undesired fiancé occupied the rest of the bed and, from what Yuuri could tell, was still sound asleep.

/_How does he even get in here…_./ Yuuri wondered. _/I wonder if he secretly had a locksmith make a copy of my key…./_

Wolfram's snoring stopped abruptly as his internal alarm clock went off. That morning, Yuuri would witness a sight that he so often missed because Wolfram was always (well, almost always) out the door before him.

The blonde boy sat up abruptly, swung his legs over the right side of the bed, and marched out of the room.

/…where is he going/ Yuuri wondered. He realized that he didn't really know Wolfram's schedule; rather, he saw him whenever Wolfram WANTED him to see him.

Little did Yuuri know how far his curiosity would take him.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

About an hour later, Yuuri found his daughter reading a picture book in her room.

"Father!" she shouted happily when she saw him, "Why are you up so early today?"

Rather than tell her that he planned on tracking Wolfram like a detective, he said "Because the earlier I wake up, the more I see you!"

Greta looked worried. "Well, I was going to go play with Gwendal today, daddy. He said he'd make me a stuffed animal if I helped him…."

_/Thank goodness./ _

Yuuri bade farewell to his daughter and continued on his quest.

_/It's too late for him to eat breakfast…was anything supposed to happen today…do I have any meetings/_

"Good morning, your majesty.

Yuuri turned around, startled, to see Conrad dressed in his usual tan uniform. He was smiling, as usual. "Hi, Conrad….have you seen Wolfram?"

If Conrad had been surprised by the question, he didn't show it. "Well, he's giving a demonstration to a few candidates for his personal guard today."

"Demonstration?"

Yuuri's question was answered by a loud BOOM originating outside the castle. He and Conrad rushed to the closest window, and what Yuuri saw troubled him.

"They're….they're on the baseball diamond…" he said sadly to Conrad.

A group of forty Mazoku soldiers, all wearing armor and looking formidable, stood in front of Wolfram as he lectured. The subject of the lecture became obvious when Wolfram chanted his usual spell and shot a fireball towards the soldier who was standing directly in front of him.

Yuuri panicked. _/What the hell is he doing? He's not just going to destroy the baseball diamond….he's going to kill those soldiers too/_

He rushed out of the castle and onto the field, with a protesting Conrad at his heels. As he neared the baseball diamond, Wolfram cast another spell which he aimed at a soldier who was standing to one side of the field.

"Animals which compose the element fire—"

"WOLFRAM!" Yuuri shouted. Was this punishment for something!

His fiancé ignored him. "—this brave Mazoku summons you!"

Yuuri watched in horror as the fireball flew towards its intended victim_. /Wolfram is attacking again needlessly…/ _He could feel the anger of the Maou well up inside of him.

"Animals which compose the element fire, this brave Ma—WHOAH!"

The young king was shocked when the soldier began a chant of his own, then jumped out of the way of the fire ball and fell to the ground, laughing. A few other soldier also laughed, and even Wolfram couldn't hide a smile.

"Well," the blonde prince said, "that was pretty good, but you need to take the length of the chant into consideration. As soon as I say 'fire', you should start chanting." He turned to the rest of the soldiers. "When the element being used against you is fire, which element can be used to repel the attack…" he scanned the crowd, "…Julian?"

A soldier who looked about Wolfram's age came to attention "Fire, sir!"

"Correct." Wolfram smiled, then folded his arms as he paced in front of the crowd.

_/Demonstration…./_ Yuuri thought. He considered asking Conrad if this was what he had meant, but he was interested in the lecture, too.

"Any others?" Wolfram asked the crowd. "Let's see…Smith?"

Another soldier answered. "Earth, sir. And water."

"Correct. Not many people can use water-type magic, but it's the most effective against fire attacks." Wolfram was completely absorbed, and was oblivious to his fiancé and his brother (who continued to stand by silently, probably laughing at Yuuri in his head).

"Now, to review." The blonde prince said, taking a deep breath, "Each of you can use magic, but since human enemies can use houjutsu, it's important to be prepared to fight one kind of magic with another. Houjutsu isn't as compartmentalized as majutsu, and the attack types can be bizarre, but they can still be countered with majutsu."

Yuuri found that he was a little in awe of Wolfram. It was clear from the faces of each of his soldiers, and from his own manner, that this was an important lecture. Although the topic was simple, none of the soldiers were nodding off or dazed…they all focused on Wolfram.

_/Is Wolfram…popular/_

"Now, for what you've all been waiting to hear. I have three spots open right now for my personal guard." Wolfram stood in front of the crowd now, his arms folded and his face serious. "Since I often accompany the Maou into human territory, a high level of majutsu skill is not necessary. Rather, the spots will go to men who are skilled with swords, who are brave, and," he said, adding emphasis and looking from face to face, "men who understand the importance of the Maou's safety."

Said Maou felt his heart warming a little. _/He's probably just saying that because he always follows me to make sure that I'm not cheating on him though…/ _ Yuuri frowned.

"Now, after lunch, I'll talk to each of your individually to find three replacements. I hope that you brought your girlfriends or wives; the kitchens have prepared a few specialties today and you should bring your significant other to share it with."

The last part was added a little loudly. Yuuri thought for a moment that Wolfram had spotted him, but then the words "girlfriends or wives" hit him.

_/No boyfriends? Husbands? Unwilling male fiancés/_

Wolfram's eyes found him right then, and he looked surprised. "Yuuri! What are you and Weller doing here?"

The crowd turned to Yuuri.

"Oh my god! It's his majesty!"

"The Maou came to visit the lecture!"

Wolfram strode up to Yuuri, shot Conrad a look, then glared at his finace. "What are you doing here, wimp?"

Yuuri sighed. _/Translation: you startled me, so now I get to insult you. It makes me feel better./_ "I was wondering what all the commotion was about."

"Commotion? Hmph. I'm looking for replacements for my personal guard."

Yurri turned to Conrad. "Do you need replacements, too?"

Conrad shook his head. "Whenever Wolfram accompanies you and you're not traveling in secret, he has his personal guard assist him." Wolfram suddenly looked downcast. "Because of the risks associated with those journeys, Wolfram's guards tend to have a higher casualty rate than mine or our older brother's."

The young Maou felt his heart sink. /More people who had to endure pain…/ He thought about that for a moment and then realized that the crowd of soldiers was still staring at him.

_/Oh god…/_ He couldn't hold back a nervous look_. /Don't tell me that all of Wolfram's soldiers are gay…/_

Wolfram cleared his throat, and then gave Yuuri an serious look. "Yuuri, they're you're subjects. Why don't you say hello?"

"Eh?"

"Don't say 'eh?' like an imbecile!" Wolfram flared up.

_/Translation: I NEED SOMETHING FROM YOU! DON'T TURN ME DOWN, JUST DO IT/_

Wolfram slapped him on the back, very, very hard, and Yuuri stumbled forward towards the soldiers.

"Hi!" He said_. /They're still staring…like I'm a celebrity./_ "I'm your Maou, Shibuya Yuuri, Harajuku Fuuri. Pleased to meet you." They still stared at him, in awe. Yuuri now saw that most of Wolfram's candidates were younger than Conrad—maybe even all of them. He approached one of them and held out his hand. "What's your name?"

The man gladly took his hand. "Brookline, sir. Pleased to meet your highness."

As Yuuri greeted the soldiers, he didn't feel Wolfram's gaze on the back of his head. Conrad kept silent, although he knew what was running through his brother's mind.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

_/Whew/_ Yuuri thought. _/That was a lot of hands to shake…and I wonder why Wolfram didn't cut in and call me a cheater, even when Issac or whatever his name was kept making jokes and I was clearly enjoying the company of someone else…/_

It was lunchtime, and the Maou fully appreciated Wolfram's earlier comments about bringing wives and girlfriends. The room usually reserved for ceremonies was packed with soldiers, pretty young women, and some of the best food that Yuuri had ever eaten. Yuuri had actually found time to talk to the soldier's wives/girlfriends, eat to his heart's content, and stay away from Wolfram. His eyes sought out the prince every few minutes, and he found that Wolfram was doing the same.

En route to lunch, Wolfram had pulled Yuuri to the end of the group of men. "Wimp, I need to ask you for something." He'd said in his usually haughty voice. He continued without letting Yuuri speak. "I already know that you're a cheater and a lecher, so this shouldn't be too hard for you."

"That again?"

"You ARE a cheater." Wolfram sighed. "I hate myself for saying this, but I would appreciate it if you would talk to the soldiers and their women and tell me how they act towards you."

So there Yuuri was, talking to Issac and his pretty girlfriend, Milenda. "Well, we met at her parents' bakery," Issac said. His arm was around her waist and she was giggling into his neck. "Oh, but it wasn't a HAPPY meeting…you see, my mother had bought some bread from there, and you wouldn't believe what she found in it, so…." He looked at his empty wine glass. "Oh, I'll be right back." He looked at Yuuri a second before leaving the Maou with his girlfriend.

She smiled at him. She had nice coloring…like Wolfram, almost. "So, your highness, I heard that you were engaged to the prince."

Yuuri colored. "Yes, but it was by acci…" His head hung in shame. "Yes."

"You don't seem very happy about it…" She pouted and shifted from side to side.

_/Is she flirting with me/_

"You know, I and Issac haven't been together very long…" She smiled. "And you're so very handsome…"

Yuuri gulped. He was glad that a pretty girl was flirting with him, but she was with someone…

Issac came back. Milenda turned her attention to him now, and Yuuri felt puzzled. Was this Wolfram's test?

"And so," Issac began again. His eyes were focused on Yuuri, not the pretty woman at his side. "So, what my mom found in the bread was actually—"

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri, Issac, and Melinda all jumped as Wolfram stormed towards them. Issac instantly put his arm around Melinda.

"Yuuri, come on, chat time's over." Wolfram said as he gruffly pulled Yuuri away by his arm.

"But, Wolfram, you said…"

Wolfram was silent until he had pulled Yuuri out of the room. He then made Yuuri face him. The prince stared at Yuuri, trying to find something to say, and then he closed his eyes for a moment and looked at the floor.

"Wolfram?"

"Quiet, I'm trying to ask a question."

_/Translation: this is embarrassing./_

Wolfram blushed, then spat it out.

"Are any of them gay?"

Yuuri's jaw dropped. Wolfram had confirmed his suspicions; the prince wanted a homosexual personal guard. He smirked, and Wolfram became irate.

"What is it, wimp?"

"Hm, I didn't know that you would look for THAT in your guard, Wolfram."

"What are you talking about?"

Yuuri smirked. "Well, I don't know if any of them are gay, really, but if you're interested in your soldiers then why are we engaged?"

_/Checkmate./_

"I am NOT interested in my soldiers." Wolfram said evenly. He was clearly hurt. "Rather, I don't EVER want to have a gay man in my personal guard."

Yuuri was now surprised. "Why? I thought that that kind of stuff was okay over here."

Wolfram glared. He was putting himself because his usual angry curtain. "Don't group all of that together. It's my guard. I asked all of the men to bring their girlfriends or wives so that I could ensure that they meet three of my requirements."

"Requirements?"

"Yes. All of my personal guard members must be talented, brave, young, and…" He started to count off with his fingers, emphasizing the number three, "attractive, charming, and heterosexual."

Yuuri was incredibly confused. He'd never pegged Wolfram as a homophobe…he couldn't even see how it was possible.

"Now, I need to get back to the party." The blonde prince shot him another hurt look and turned on his heel.

_/Eh/_

Yuuri did what he usually did whenever he needed answers: he sought out Conrad. He found him in the library, researching some complicated topic. Yuuri wondered if Annissina was involved.

"Oh, that's easy," the second oldest brother told him, "but I don't know if Wolfram would want me to tell you."

Yuuri frowned. Conrad would usually answer all of his questions, nothing withheld. "Why not?"

Conrad looked up at Yuuri from the book he was reading. "It's a very personal matter. I assume that he wouldn't tell you himself, but, if you really want to know…"

"I do."

He sighed. "A few years ago, a talented soldier named Balint made his way into Wolfram's personal guard. Wolfram didn't know it, but Balint harbored strong feelings for him. He later told me that Balint would sometimes talk to him at night, or would come to his tent when Wolfram traveled. Because Wolfram was unaware of Balint's attraction towards him, he was surprised when Balint confessed to him one night."

Yuuri was shocked. "Someone fell in love with WOLFRAM?"

"Yes, it's not SO unbelievable, wimp."

Yuuri froze as he turned and saw the prince standing a few feet behind him, looking like his usual pissy self. He glared at Conrad, who quickly left while shooting Yuuri a "do your best" smile.

"Well, Weller, are you going to finish the story? No, I should tell him, if anyone." Wolfram stalked up to Yuuri.

"That soldier thought that he was worthy of me. He thought that because he was talented, and handsome, that I must have harbored feelings for him as well." Wolfram stared Yuuri down. "But, I have ALWAYS waited for marriage. I have always wanted a family…a husband, children, and the like."

Wolfram paused and bit his lip. Yuuri saw truth in what Wolfram was saying…he never looked at anyone but Yuuri, he was proud of Greta, and he didn't want Yuuri to stray.

"I tried to explain to THAT MAN that I was waiting for marriage, and that I did not consider any of my soldiers as possible bed partners." He huffed. "Well, he just exploded. He accused me of looking at my soldiers, of sleeping with them, and he attacked me in anger."

"After that, we had him thrown out of the army," He added. "It's treason to attack a superior officer, much less a prince."

The Maou held his breath. "So that's why…you don't want any gay soldiers."

Wolfram nodded. "Not all men share my traditionalist views. I do not want to invite another man like that into my personal guard, to have him assume such things about me and ACCOST me."

_Traditionalist?_

Wolfram looked out the window for a moment, then fixed his gaze on Yuuri. "So, did any of the men look at you more than they should have, or touch you on the shoulder or anything like that?"

Yuuri blushed. "I don't know why you're asking me. I would have thought that they'd go after you." He was bitter because he had realized that Wolfram had used him as bait. Gay-bait.

Wolfram rolled his eyes. "Yuuri, you know that you're attractive. If any of those men had been gay, then they probably would have been all over you." He narrowed his eyes. "And similarly, did any of their women hit on you?"

Yuuri thought. "Well, Melinda…Issac's girl…she did, I think." He expected an explosion.

"And Issac?"

Yuuri thought again, a little nervous. "He kept looking at me."

Wolfram nodded. "Then it was probably a set-up. He's gay, and she's some girl. I'll keep him out, then." He looked thoughtful. "He was pretty good, too." Worry crossed Wolfram's pretty features.

"Well, whatever," Wolfram said as he left.

Yuuri sat down in a nearby chair and thought for a while. Today had held many surprises. Wolfram didn't want gay soldiers in his personal guard. Wolfram had been attacked by a member of his guard in the past.

_Why didn't he tell me in the first place?_

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Wolfram entered his own bedroom later that night. He was worried about the information he'd shared with Yuuri_. /He'll probably make fun of me for it, the wimp./_ Wolfram thought. He changed into his pink nightgown and prepared himself for sneaking into Yuuri's room.

His secret: a hairpin. Wolfram had happened across one of the maids one day, as she tried to open a locked door using a hairpin. He'd actually been brooding over the problem of Yuuri's locked door the entire morning.

"What are you doing?" He'd asked in a very intimidating manner. Lazania had jumped and hit her head.

"Oh, prince Wolfram!" she said, bowing politely. "The key to this room was lost, but one of your mother's dresses—actually, about eighty of them—are in here." She blushed sheepishly. "I know this works with some locks, so…"

"Give me that."

She'd handed the hair pin to and intrigued Wolfram, who tried to unlock the door himself. He found that the hairpin was too wide, so he carefully cut it with his sword and tried again.

He opened the door after a few minutes to find that the room contained not only an obscene amount of fabric in the form of lady's dresses, but also a man's uniform hanging up, kept neatly.

Wolfram had stared at it for a few minutes. It was red, not green, tan, or blue like his and his brother's, and it was also adorned with a crest. Wolfram felt his heart sink when he realized the identity of its late owner.

_Dan Hiri._

"Oh, thank you, prince Wolfram!" Lazania said. "Um, your mother wanted, um…"

"Do you mind if I keep this?" He asked her suddenly, holding up the hair pin.

"No, not at all!"

He smiled a rare smile. "Just ask me if you need any more doors unlocked…it might take forever otherwise…"

So now, the prince crept to Yuuri's room, hair pin in hand. He unlocked the door silently, as he was so accustomed to doing, and shut it as he entered the room.

Yuuri was lying on his back as he always was when Wolfram entered. Ever since that first week, the Maou had always kept to the left side of the bed.

_Maybe he's glad that I come to him._

Wolfram gently pulled up the covers and crawled in next to Yuuri. He let himself look at his fiance's handsome face for a few minutes before shifting into a lying position.

Yuuri stirred, and sat up. Wolfram did his best to feign sleep.

"Wolfram?"

Nothing.

"Wolfram."

Nothing, nothing, _I'm asleep, shut up, I'm asleep…_

"I'm gonna go sleep with Milenda."

"YOU WHAT!" Wolfram shot up, glaring at Yuuri, ready to wrestle him down to the bed to keep him from leaving.

"I knew you were awake."

Wolfram realized that he'd been had. "Hpmh. I can't believe that you'd say anything so insensitive!"

Yuuri smiled at him gently, the smile that made him feel warm.

_Even though he doesn't want me._

_Even though he won't touch me or kiss me._

_Well, you shouldn't have sex until marriage anyway._

"What are you smiling at, wimp? Are you in some kind of strange mood?"

Yuuri shook his head. "No stranger than you."

Wolfram knew that he was weak right then. Usually, when he came to bed, the Maou was asleep (thought not snoring) and he kept away from Yuuri by thinking of himself as Yuuri's protector. He was strong, and disciplined, so their nighttime proximity did not tempt him. He was above that, above taking free "shots" at Yuuri's body while he was asleep.

But now that they were awake…

"Well, I don't know what you're implying, but it seems insulting." Wolfram glared at Yuuri, glared to keep from smiling back or adoring his fiancé.

"Wolfram."

"What?"

Yuuri's smile broadened, but he seemed nervous. "Since I was awake when you broke into my room, that means that I caught you and you have to leave for tonight."

Wolfram looked worried for a moment, and then…

"Ah ha! We never made that rule."

"But I' the Maou…."

"But you're a wimp!" Wolfram now grinned, while Yuuri rested his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"Fine…" Yuuri said softly. "Good night." He laid down again, and Wolfram had to resist the urge to cuddle up with him.

_If I do that, then I'm no better than Balint. My love for him is too strong for that; I can wait to touch him until after we're married_.

Wolfram laid down on his side, facing away from Yuuri.

_I love him, and I love our daughter_.

He heard Yuuri's breathing become slow and heavy.

_I'll listen to him fall asleep tonight._

Although he had never directly told Yuuri that he loved him, he could feel that love burning a hole in his chest every day. The only thing that kept him from telling Yuuri was the reaction he knew he would get.

Wolfram sighed, and it was the last sound Yuuri heard that night.

_/Translation: love me./_


	2. Experiment

Oh my god 'yall! Thanks for the reviews!

Thank you, the-book-of-virgin-suicides!

Thank you, Sephielya J. Maxwell!

Thank you, Princess Sin!

It's late, but I'll confess: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou.

The Day with Wolfram, Chapter Two

Experiment

The next day marked the beginning of a festival. There were many festivals in New Makoku, Yuuri had learned. Gunter had once given him a lively lecture about which festivals were related to the seasons, spirits, love, and old Mazoku military victories.

The Maou was always so busy, though, that he often forgot about each festival…or about world outside the castle in general.

He woke up that morning, drowsy because Wolfram had interrupted his sleep the night before. As Yuuri looked around, he saw the usual sight: Wolfram was gone, and both of their pillows were lying in odd locations in the room.

/Maybe I should ask Wolfram to pitch for the team…/ He thought.

Although Yuuri was curious as to his fiance's whereabouts, he decided to not track him down that day. /I think I learned enough yesterday/ He thought.

Yuuri sighed. How could Wolfram always act like such a spoiled child, a child who didn't REALLY have a care in the world although he always acted like he did, and yet have such a sad past? His relationship with his brother, his frustration with the old war, his troubled relationship with Elizabeth, and now the memories of his assailant, Balint. These moments of truth, when the prince dropped his "I'll get things my way, dammit!" attitude, sometimes frightened Yuuri.

It was difficult, when he had to think of Wolfram as a person.

"Your majesty!" came a soft voice from the hall.

/Gunter./

Yuuri was torn between pretending that he was asleep, and getting out of bed so that he could perform his royal duties. He chose the latter and opened the door to see an exited Gunter.

"Your majesty, today marks the beginning of the Augustine festival!" He said happily, clasping his hands.

/Shit…what does that one mean…/

Yuuri smiled and asked politely, "Gunter, which one is that again?"

The tall man's face read "Oh, I'm glad you didn't know because I want to tell you!" and Gunter took a breath.

"Augustine was a famous courtesan years ago. She had many lovers, all noblemen."

/Oh my god./

"The Augustine festival is intended for adults, usually lovers." He smiled a somewhat disturbing smile. "It's said that if people go there together, they are bound to develop a strong relationship with one another…have you considered going, your Majesty?"

Yuuri sighed. "I guess I should take Wolfram, then?"

Gunter blushed. "Oh, if you'd like to take him, then, because, he's your, er, fiancé…" Gunter took a step back. "But of course, your Majesty, if he doesn't feel like going, then I could…"

"I'm sure that Wolfram would love to go."

Yuuri and Gunter both turned to see Conrad standing in the hallway, smiling his usual "Life is so good and I have no problems…and I'm smarter than you," smile.

The Maou sighed. "Is it okay to ask others to come along?"

Gunter held his hands up. "No! It's said to be bad luck to invite a third member. The festival is for couples only." He looked saddened. "Well, I am happy that you would consider bringing me, your Majesty…"

"No, I though Murata might want to come."

Close to tears, Gunter left his king and the soldier to look for sympathy.

"So, Yuuri, are you going to ask Wolfram?" Conrad asked, a little more serious this time.

Yuuri averted his eyes, and then said, "Honestly, I don't want to go with him as a COUPLE. I have to hear enough about that on ordinary days. Can I take Greta instead, or…"

"Children are forbade from the festival. And," he said, lowering his voice in case his younger brother was around and looking Yuuri directly in the face, "even if you don't act as a couple, I'm sure that he'd be happy that you asked him to the festival. It would mean a lot to him."

Yuuri understood. Conrad was always very thoughtful, even when it came the brother who would sooner than not rip up a winning lottery ticket if it had been a gift from Conrad.

"I don't have to buy him anything or wear anything strange, do I?" He asked apprehensively.

"Well, it's customary for women to dress as prostitutes. Men typically dress as nobles or businessmen."

"PROSTITUTES!"

Conrad chuckled. "It's all in fun, to celebrate that particular way of life."

Yuuri's face reddened. "Wolfram wouldn't dress like a prostitute, would he?"

"Do you think that he would?"

He thought about that. "Well, it would be pretty funny, but I don't think he'd really…"

The soldier smiled. "The dress is usually the same even for same-sex couples. There are some couples, same-sex and not, that do attend the festival wearing clothing that is more 'interesting', but it's usually for the sake of humor. I should warn you, though, that some women—and men—use the festival as a mask for prostitution."

Yuuri's face showed his displeasure. "You mean, they actually…."

"Yes."

Yuuri thought for a moment, and then he realized the time. "I need to get dressed. Um…."

"Ask Gunter where the clothing for the festival is. You should be able to fit into something we have."

The Maou thanked Conrad, and stalked off in search of Gunter.

What Yuuri found an hour later was his fiancé, dressed as he normally was for "outings in disguise", playing with Greta in the Toy Room. He felt uneasy, and wasn't entirely sure about whether he should approach Wolfram, or just back out.

Wolfram heard Yuuri's footsteps when he arrived at the doorway, but he ignored the Japanese boy's presence.

/If he wants to go with me, he'll ask me./ Wolfram thought. /I won't bother him or beg./

"So, Greta," he said proudly as he sat in front of her. They were drawing in a coloring book—or rather, she was coloring lady's dresses, and he helped her decided which colors to use.

"You're very good at coloring." He said. Greta blushed. "Wolf, this is just a kid's thing…"

Wolfram shook his head, and smiled at Yuuri's daughter. "It's very good to be able to do this. Why, if you showed your grandmother Cecile, I know that she'd tell you the same thing." Wolfram knew this from experience; his mother had always fawned over his coloring books, his choice in food…the fact that he could pick out matching socks for the day…

/Is he going to come over here/The blonde prince wondered.

The cozy father-daughter scene served to deepen Yuuri's nervousness. /He really does take our relationship seriously. He's the only one in the castle…even his mother and Greta want us to look for girls./

He spoke up, after watching for a few more seconds. "Wolfram, can I speak to you?"

Wolfram feigned surprise, and then nonchalantly said, "So, you're finally up, Yuuri." His expression showed that he was hurt, but the only emotion in his voice was agitation.

/Oh no…did we miss part of the festival/

"Well," the prince said as he stood gracefully, putting one hand on his hip, "Since you asked so nicely, then yes." He turned to 'their' daughter. "Greta, why don't you go show Grandma Ceci what you did? I'm sure that she'll have the chefs make something special for you," as he said this, he patted her on the head, "because you're a good little girl."

She gathered the pastels and books. "Thanks, Wolfram-daddy!" she said as she crossed him. Upon arriving at Yuuri, she took his hand for a moment, and then said, "Wake up earlier tomorrow so we can play together."

Yuuri grinned sheepishly at his daughter. "It's a promise."

She skipped down the hallway.

As soon as she was out of the boy's sight, Yuuri turned towards Wolfram. Wolfram gazed back at him intently, clearing waiting for whatever Yuuri planned to tell him. It was obvious that Wolfram planned to go to the festival by his clothing; it was his way of 'asking' Yuuri to take him.

"Well?" the prince asked impatiently.

Yuuri sighed. /I don't really like this, but…/ "Gunter told me that today is the Augustine festival, and since I don't know much about the customs and holidays here, I wanted to go out today."

He paused for a moment.

"You're not asking Weller to attend, are you?"

Displeased but not surprised by this response, Yuuri said the little bit that he had hoped he wouldn't actually have to say, think, or feel. "No, I want to go with you."

"Well, good." Wolfram folded his arms and averted his eyes for a moment, before allowing them to travel over Yuuri's body. He smiled.

"What?"

"Yuuri, what are you wearing?"

Yuuri looked down over his own body. He was dressed in the costume that Gunter had leant him—amidst much sobbing and a nosebleed; Gunter had told him that it was the typical businessman's costume. The color was a deadish blue-grey, which Yuuri preferred over the prostitute costumes he'd seen in the same room (which he suspected were Cecile's possessions.)

"Conrad and Gunter told me that this was normal."

Wolfram blushed, looked away, and asked, "Don't you feel embarrassed wearing that?"

"Why would I?"

Wolfram poked Yuuri's shoulder. "It's a costume, and…" He drew his hand back guiltily, then looked in Yuuri's eyes. "…by wearing it, you're portraying a man who's paying for sex."

Yuuri's face reddened. "Oh, it's for a festival for crying out loud."

"Well, only children and old people should wear costumes."

"Oh, oh, did someone say costume?"

Both boys turned to see Cecile walking down the hall, wearing—

"MOTHER!" Wolfram shouted.

Yuuri would have been embarrassed if his mother had worn the costume, but that didn't keep him from finding Wolfram's frustration humorous. Cecile was wearing an all-black corset and a ripped-up, shortened version of a black-and-white barmaid's skirt with knee-high black boots. Yuuri had seen the woman naked before, or wearing small amounts of clothing, and she wasn't HIS mother…he also found that he didn't feel compelled to glance at her chest.

/She's my friend's mother…my mom is weird too, so this is just entertaining./

Wolfram covered Yuuri's eyes. "Mother, how can you walk around like that? You used to be the MAOU! How can you be so indecent!"

She smiled, and pulled Wolframs's hands away as soon as she could. "Oh, but it's the Augustine festival!" She hugged Yuuri tightly, and then admired his costume. "What do you say, your Majesty?" She winked at him. "How much?"

"MOTHER!"

Yuuri smiled. "I'm very afraid of answering that question."

Cecile smiled even wider as she released him. "And you should be. I'm worth more than every other woman in this world…" She pouted. "Since I don't have a lover I was going to ask your Majesty, but you'll be bring Wolfy-Wolf, so maybe I'll ask someone else…"

"MOTHER!"

She ignored her youngest-born. "Say, your Majesty, is my makeup too much?"

Yuuri inspected her face. /Why is a girl…er, much older woman…asking me that/ "What's too much?"

"Do I look like a dirty whore?" she asked, smiling widely. She knew what the reaction would be.

"MOTHER!"

Yuuri smiled, and played along. "No, I don't think you have enough on."

"YUURI! Don't HELP her!"

They both smiled. "Well, if that's the case, I'll go fix my makeup. Hm, maybe Gunter would like to accompany me…" she looked outside the castle window. "If I don't have a chauffer, I might just get swept away by some handsome man!"

She laughed as she walked away, and then began singing some obscene song.

Yuuri was in a good mood. Wolfram was clearly flustered…/Maybe he's not too sure about this festival either./

"Wolfram, are you going to put a costume on?"

The red-faced prince turned on him. "The hell I am."

Yuuri and Wolfram left the castle together. When they arrived at the first stalls, Yuuri realized that he didn't know how OPEN the Mazoku were.

/Back home, anybody can rent rooms in hotels by the hour, buy schoolgirls' panties from vending machines, and watch porn./ He thought. /I wonder if the Mazoku are even more open than that…./

Yuuri's suspicions were soon confirmed. The eighth stall they crossed featured a booth where women could PAY to undress and give a private show to the man who was with them, or any man for that matter. At another, a talented candy-maker sold candy in a variety of shapes…naked women, naked men, naked women WITH naked men…

"Wolfram, is everyone in New Makoku very…open?"

Wolfram gave him a look. "I don't understand the question." He smiled. "Or does this kind of thing make you nervous, you wimp?"

Yuuri blushed. /OF COURSE it does! Who wouldn't feel…funny…here/ "It's just that you don't usually see things like this back in Japan. Not in broad daylight, at least./

The prince 'hmphed'. "Well, maybe you just don't like our culture!"

"No, it's not that…"

The next booth almost made Yuuri faint.

"Experiment! Experiment!" The booth owner called out. He was a good-looking young man. Beside him was an equally attractive woman.

"What's that?" Yuuri asked Wolfram.

Wolfram blushed. "Um, 'experiment' is slang for…experimenting with…new things."

"Like what?"

"Don't ask me, YOU DAMN WIMP!"

Yuuri tapped Wolfram on the shoulder (which was very significant to Wolfram) and pointed to a man approaching the booth. "Like that?"

The young man running the booth smiled. "Would you like to experiment?"

"Yeah," he replied. "How much?"

"Five."

"Sure."

Yuuri watched in curiosity as the man pulled out a few coins and handed them to the booth owner.

The booth owner smiled wider, and then started talking louder to attract a crowd.

"So, this man wants to experiment! Well, sir, what are you normally into?"

The man blushed. "Er, it's men."

"Alright! Next to me I have the lovely Helen." The pretty girl stood and waved at the crowd. Yuuri heard a few whistles, and Helen blushed, looking pleased.

She stepped down, and stood in front of the customer. "Is this your first time kissing a girl?"

"Sure." He said. The question was embarrassing.

The woman put her hands on his shoulders, leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips. A few people in the crowd clapped or cheered.

Yuuri stared in shock.

/Gay guy…kissing girl…huh/

Wolfram 'hmphed' again. "Disgusting. Why is he kissing a women if he likes men? Jeez, what would his lover think?"

The booth owner started to speak again. "So, how was it?" he asked the man.

The man thought for a moment. "Pretty good. Better than I thought."

Wolfram glared holes in the man's head.

"There you have it!" the booth owner shouted. "Anyone else want to experiment?"

Wolfram grabbed Yuuri's hand and pulled him away from THAT booth. "That's disgusting. What business does he have, kissing a women he doesn't really long for?"

Yuuri looked at Wolfram's pale hand on his wrist.

/Experiment./

It was like an infection. The warmth, and the knowledge that he indeed was the person Wolfram really longed for.


	3. Cake

The Day With Wolfram, Chapter Three

Cake

The next booth that they stopped at was tamer than the others. The owner sold little cakes with hearts on them, similar to the Maou steamed buns Yuuri had seen when he first came to New Makoku.

Yuuri and Wolfram stood in front of the stall for a few moments.

Wolfram cleared his throat.

Yuuri blinked.

Wolfram motioned towards the cakes.

Yuuri stared.

Wolfram rolled his eyes. "Buy me one."

"But they have HEARTS on them…"

"YUURI!"

"Fine!" Yuuri scowled as he took a few coins out of his pocket. "How much for one of the cakes?" he asked the stall owner.

The old, round man chuckled. "Oh, they're not for sale."

"Eh?"

"I can see that you're new here." The owner smiled at Wolfram. "These are called 'love cakes'. They're free, but you and your loved one have to split it."

"Oh…." Yuuri said. They looked pretty good, but he didn't want to share one with Wolfram. "Then, can I have that one?" He asked, pointing to a cake decorated with a yellow heart.

The owner put the cake in a paper bag, face-up (as Yuuri had seen some Japanese vendors sell food) so that only the heart was visible, and asked, "Do you know what yellow roses mean?"

Yuuri blinked. "Don't they mean love, or something?"

"Hmph." Wolfram took the cake from the man and glared at Yuuri. "Yellow roses mean beauty. I see that you've finally noticed me, Yuuri." He looked away and started to munch, killing Yuuri's hopes of being able to eat an uncontaminated cake.

"Thank you for your business!" The owner said. As Wolfram started to walk away, Yuuri turned back to the stall owner and whispered, "Please let me have another one."

"No way."

"I'll pay."

"Festival rules." The owner squinted. "What, did you pick the wrong one? He is pretty, for a young man…well, he seems irritable, so maybe maroon…"

"YUURI!" Wolfram shouted when he realized that his fiancé was lagging behind.

"Forget it. Thanks," Yuuri said as he ran to catch up to Wolfram.

Wolfram glared at him for a moment, and then he smiled an evil smile.

"You weren't cheating on me with that old guy, were you?" He laughed, and then said through a bite full of cake, "He looked like a plush that my brother would make."

Yuuri smiled and tried to hold back a laugh. "Gwendal does make some rather demented-looking plushes." He remembered that Greta had said something about Gwendal making her a stuffed animal in return for helping him for something.

"Say, Wolfram, have you seen the plush that he made for Greta?"

Wolfram nodded, and wiped his mouth. "It's called an elephant, I think. It was pink and there were two stars on its face. Maybe they were eyes…."

Yuuri still wondered what the favor had entailed.

"Do you know why he made it for her?"

"Yeah, he's been worried because his plushes never look like actual animals, so he asked her to help design it." He thought some more. "I think that Mother had a hangover as well, so maybe he was trying to keep Greta busy with quiet activity so that she wouldn't make Mother go into a pained wailing bout…"

Yuuri suddenly felt his pants leg being tugged. He turned around and saw no one, and then he looked down at his leg.

A small boy with blonde hair and dark brown eyes looked back at him forlornly, ready to cry.

"Whoah!" the Maou shouted as be backed away. "Hey, what are you doing here? This festival is for adults!"

The little boy's face contorted and he started to sob.

"Yuuri?" Wolfram asked. He turned to his fiancé, who was panicking and looking at him helplessly. "Don't be rude," he spat at Yuuri. Wolfram knelt by the boy and put his hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. "Where are your parents?"

The boy turned to Wolfram, and said, through wracking sobs, "They—came—here—and—I don't—know—where—they—went!" He sobbed again. "Where—are—they?"

Wolfram gave him a rare, kind, comforting smile. "Well, we'll help you find them then." He took the boy's hand and glared at Yuuri. "That had better be okay with you, wimp."

/How am I a wimp in this situation/ Yuuri wondered.

As he watched Wolfram and the boy walk in front, still holding hands like Yuuri did with Greta back at the castle, Yuuri couldn't help but think that maybe, Wolfram would be a good parent.

No, was! Was//No more children. I don't even know how we would—I mean, how any others would come about. Unless if he adopts and has his OWN kid then./

The boy stopped crying so loudly after a while, and looked around at the stalls. He pulled Wolfram over to one stall, where more 'love cakes' were being handed out.

/Yuuri probably wants one of these./ Wolfram thought. He knew that Yuuri didn't like the festival tradition of sharing the cake…or rather, that he just didn't want to eat after Wolfram—

/Ah/ Wolfram thought. /It's not that, it can't be that./ There was no way that Yuuri wouldn't love him, after all they'd been through. He mentally kicked himself for thinking so weakly. /Well, since that wimp didn't eat any of the other cake/ he told himself//then he would probably appreciate the gesture if I gave him one./

He looked behind and saw that Yuuri was lagging, looking at the booths and lost in thought. If he had been sharped, Wolfram would have realized that Yuuri had ripped his gaze away from Wolfram and the boy as soon as Wolfram had turned his head.

But Wolfram, being Wolfram, didn't notice. Instead, he wondered//What's that wimp looking at/ He shut he fears out of his mind, fears that Yuuri was looking at girls.

Instead, he tugged on the boy's hand and said, "Let's go get some cakes."

The boy didn't smile immediately, as Wolfram had expected. Instead, he looked off in much the same manner as Yuuri had.

Wolfram gave him a concerned look. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Um…I forgot something over there." The boy pointed to an area where they were fewer stalls, and less people.

Yuuri caught up to them. "What's up?"

Wolfram spat out, "Nothing. I'm going to get another cake, and then we need to help him find something he left somewhere."

"Okay, okay, calm down…" Yuuri looked away again. Wolfram glanced at him one last time before kneeling in front of the boy.

"Look, this guy isn't good for much," he said in a cheery voice, "but I need you to stay with him for a moment."

The boy looked up at Yuuri, then took a hold of his pants leg again and nodded.

Wolfram approached the crowded stall a little nervously. /Yuuri doesn't really understand this, but the different cakes have different meanings. They're meant to signify the quality of the relationship of the couple who splits them./

He saw four colors: yellow, pink, red, and maroon.

/Yellow is beauty; it's compliment. Pink is meant for friendship…for a very new or very old relationship. Maroon is irritability, but it also means a 'lustful' relationship./

The last was red, the simplest love. He decided to bring that one to Yuuri.

As Wolfram returned, he saw that he boy had started sobbing again and Yuuri was doing his best to comfort him.

"What did you do?" Wolfram asked him irritably.

Yuuri glared at him. "I didn't do anything! He just started crying and saying that we need to go right away."

"If—we—don't—go—my—mom—and—dad—'ll—get—mad!" The boy sobbed.

Wolfram's eyes opened in shock. "Did they BRING you here?"

The boy nodded.

"But they should have known that this festival is off-limits to children!"

Yuuri rolled his eyes. "I said that before."

"Hush." Wolfram held the cake as lightly as he could, still nervous about giving it to Yuuri. "Well, when we see your parents, I'm going to scold them. Jeez, I thought you just followed them here!"

The boy grabbed Yuuri's sleeve and tugged desperately. "It's over here."

"It?" Yuuri raised an eyebrow but he followed the boy anyway. Wolfram caught up to them.

"Yuuri, wait."

"What is it?"

They were out of the crowd by then, away from most of the noise, and Wolfram could hear his own words, no, his own heart much, much more loudly than he wanted to.

He started to hand the cake to Yuuri, but the boy screamed. "My mom and dad!"

Wolfram blushed. /How inconsiderate of me—well, damn it/ "Where are they?" he asked, hoping Yuuri would just take the cake while he was looking at the boy. No such luck.

The boy walked up to Wolfram. "If you don't follow me now, I'm going to scream."

Wolfram panicked now, and Yuuri couldn't help but smile. /That sounds a lot like Wolfram, actually./ He thought.

"Well, we're going to follow you! Where are they?"

The boy started to run off again, but before either Yuuri or Wolfram moved, Wolfram shoved the cake close to Yuuri's chest and said, "Just take this!"

"What's that about?" Yuuri looked at it for a second and ran after the boy. "Come on!"

Wolfram felt like his head was going to explode. He chased after Yuuri, and noticed that the little boy had started to run faster. He bumped into a few people, earning him a few rude remarks, and then they were out of the crowd and in an unfamiliar part of the city.

"Yuuri?" Wolfram asked when he saw that he was alone. Hadn't he just seen the Maou running by this way? After a few moments of silence, he shouted, louder, "Yuuri?"

He heard a muffled response a few meters away, and followed it, taking a few turns. At last, he found Yuuri.

Yuuri was lying on the ground, with the little boy standing off a ways. Wolfram looked from Yuuri's unconscious body to the little boy, horrified, and asked, "How did this happen to him?"

The boy looked close to tears, and Wolfram ran up to him and knelt in front of him, grabbing his shoulders.

"Where are the people who did this to him?" The prince started to panic. He didn't have his sword, Yuuri was out of commission, and the worst part was how disturbingly quiet the boy was being.

Then, he heard footsteps and stood to look behind him. The footsteps stopped immediately, but he could still feel the person—no, not one. There were several people in the area, and all were still.

Wolfram's panic increased, and in a desperate last hope he knelt by Yuuri and tried to shake him awake.

"Yuuri! Wake up, you stupid wimp! You CHEATER!" He shouted, for no reason at that moment other than his own fear. "Come ON! Wake up and become the Maou!"

The boy started to cry, and then he ran down another alleyway.

"Wait! Hey, WAIT!" Wolfram screamed at him. The boy disappeared.

/What's happening to me/ Wolfram thought. He could hear more footsteps. /I don't even have my sword…but I'm a brave Mazoku soldier/ He steadied himself as the footsteps drew nearer, but his enemies were still out of sight.

/Think/ His heart thundered in his ears, and he grabbed Yuuri's hand in both of his own. /I've got to save Yuuri./

Whoever was behind him had stopped walking, and Wolfram started to turn around, to see his assailant, when he heard the man say, "Found you," and then felt something very heavy and very hard hit the back of his head.

As he blacked out, he thought//We're in Mazoku territory…should've used majutsu……/

The last thing that Yuuri had remembered seeing was the boy. The boy had stopped walking suddenly when they had found themselves in a part of town that looked like the setting for a 'vampire attack' in a movie, the kind of place a woman would walk down, think 'oh, where am I?' and then run into a vampire. Or a mugger. Or a rapist.

/Uh./

But now, Yuuri as Yuuri awoke, what he felt was the strongest sensation of pain that he had ever felt before in his life. The arrangement of his body parts didn't make sense when he first came to—it hurt too much! And why couldn't he move? After a few moments of panic, he opened his eyes.

He was in a dungeon or a prison of sorts, chained to a wall in a standing position. /That explains the pain./ The back of his head throbbed, so he guessed that he had been knocked out. He was pleased to find, at the very least, that he was still dressed—even his shoes and money pouch had remained untouched.

He looked around more, and saw that the room was furnished with a bed. That perplexed his sleepy mind for a moment, and then he became angry.

"Who chains an unconscious person to a wall when there's a bed nearby?" He asked no one in particular.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Yuuri found the source of the one sound that filled the room: the ceiling was leaking what Yuuri hoped was water, and a puddle had formed that stopped a short ways from his feet. There was a small window in the room, but Yuuri couldn't see anything through it. On the other wall was a door.

Yuuri hoped that there wasn't a guard behind it.

"Hello?" he asked softly, trying to not be too loud. If there was a guard close to his door, he would be heard; if not, he didn't want to get any one else's attention.

"What is it?" The guard barked.

/Damn./

"Um, well…where am I?"

"Don't ask stupid questions. You're here." He could imagine the guard smirking.

"Where's the other boy who was with me?"

"Who? The Maou?"

Yuuri almost corrected him by saying, "I'm the Maou!" but then he realized that he might have been given an opportunity. "Yeah."

The guard was silent for a moment, and then he said, "I think that Sir Balint is in with him."

Yuuri's breath caught in his chest. His throat tightened, and he suddenly wasn't sure of which question to ask next.

"Balint?" was all he could think of. "Is he the lord of this castle?"

"How many questions do you have?" the guard spat.

Yuuri held his tongue. /I wonder what's happening to Wolfram./

He became aware of a muffled sound in the next room. It sounded like two voices…one was calm, and the other excited and angry. The calm voice would say something incoherent and quiet, and the other would reply by shouting.

/Wolfram/


	4. Puddle

The Day with Wolfram, Chapter Four

Puddle

…. …………….+

Yuuri became aware of a muffled sound in the next room. It sounded like two voices…one was calm, and the other excited and angry. The calm voice would say something incoherent and quiet, and the other would reply by shouting.

/Wolfram/

Yuuri strained his eyes, but he could only roughly make out what Wolfram was saying.

"Coward! How could you do a thing such as this?"

What was happening? Yuuri strained against the bonds that held his arms to the wall, hoping that they were as old as the room he was held in. The cuffs were rusted and scratched, but they were sturdy. He could feel the two sides of the lock grating together, and focused his energy on trying to break the cuffs that way against the pain that this caused.

"What—what are you doing—you—!"

The sudden cease in Wolfram's shouting made Yuuri lose concentration. He tried again, but the worry started to build up inside of him.

"Stop!"

The anger in Wolfram's voice had been replaced by fear. Yuuri knew from experience that this was rare, and he was terrified of what the cause may have been.

He continued to listen to the struggle in the next room, his heart beating painfully hard in his chest. Unwilling to rely on the Maou's power for help, he tried to think of a way out of the situation.

/The cuffs will HAVE to break if I keep doing this, right/ He thought. /Is Wolfram in the same situation? Is he trying to find a way out/

Wolfram's shouts had turned to angry sobs. The other voice was a little louder, but was still low and soft and Yuuri could not make out the words.

"What do you want?" Wolfram cried. Yuuri could not make out the response.

"How could you!" Silence for a few minutes, and then, "What have you done to Yuuri?"

Yuuri's heart skipped a beat then sank in his chest. He was safe, and he considered shouting that to Wolfram (though it wouldn't have done him much good, in the situation he was in) when the guard outside Yuuri's door laughed.

"What are they DOING in there?" he asked. "I mean, that's not how negotiations usually go…"

Yuuri's anger flared up. Why wouldn't the Maou come out? Had he really resorted to that—to relying on the Maou? No, surely if he talked it out…everyone was a person inside, even if they buried that part of them to protect themself. Even Wolfram, bratty, pissy Wolfram…as he listened to the cries in the next room, he next that that part of Wolfram had been unburied.

/Everyone can be talked to. This Balint person might just be doing this to scare me into negotiation with him./ Yuuri thought.

He gathered up his courage, and then shouted as loudly as he could, "Eh, Balint, sir, if you want to negotiate, I'm more than willing to talk to you."

"What the fuck would he want with you?" the guard outside his door asked.

The sounds in the next room had stopped momentarily, and then Yuuri heard the low voice laugh.

(In the next room)

Wolfram was chained to the wall in the same position as Yuuri. He had been awake for a while longer, though, when Balint had entered the room and made his blood freeze.

The other man looked a little older than Wolfram, and he was taller as well.

"Hello, Wolf," he said as if he had casually entered his parlor while entertaining guests.

Wolfram's eyes shot open and his throat tightened as he stared at his former guard member. "You…" he was overwhelmed by fear, not sure of what to think or do, and he unconsciously struggled against his cuffs. He tried to compose himself by looking away, closing his eyes, and summoning his courage.

/Even if I've been captured, my safety is not important. As a Mazoku soldier, I cannot be overcome by fear of captivity or torture. If I am killed, then it will be the end that I earned myself./

He steadied himself as best he could, and then remembered his duty.

"Where is Yuuri?" Wolfram asked as he glared at Balint with all of the rage he could gather.

Balint smiled. "Well, you've played with him enough, so I'm letting him sit out."

"What do you plan to do with him?"

The smile left Balint's face momentarily. He put his hand to his chin and looked thoughtful. "Well, I didn't really plan on capturing him, so I think that I'll sell him to Big Shimaron, or whoever else will play for him. I don't have any use for him."

/For him(?)/ Wolfram thought. /Nevermind, nevermind! Don't be afraid/ "Well, then did the Original King have anything to do with this? Why would you capture the Maou if you're not going to do anything with him?"

Balint smiled widely this time, and, to Wolfram's horror, began to close the distance between them. "Why do you think?"

Wolfram swallowed. /He still has a grudge against me…/ "I—I don't know." He swallowed again, and then shouted, "That's why I'm asking you!"

His captor frowned and clamped his hand painfully over Wolfram's mouth, making the blonde prince want to bite or spit or both. "I know how loud you like to be, but—" Wolfram glared at the insinuation "—it's rude to shout in another person's face."

His hand moved from Wolfram's mouth to his neck, and he started to stroke Wolfram's hair affectionately. Wolfram moved away as much as he could, but there was little he could do.

"Stop it!"

Balint smiled. "Maybe you were telling the truth when you said that you hadn't been with any of your soldiers, if this is feels too good—"

"Coward! How could you do a thing such as this?" Wolfram shouted. He wanted to keep those hands away from his body, if Balint had—no, Balint must have been lying, he was screwing with him, trying to get to him. /He has to be after Yuuri./ Wolfram thought. /If I get him mad at me, then he might just leave and go after Yuuri. Then, I can--/

His hands moved down to the top of Wolfram's chest, and Wolfram shouted, "What—what are you doing—you—!" and then he held his breath as Balint started to unbutton his green "disguise" overshirt. His throat tightened again, and his shame and fear began to overtake his anger.

"Stop! Take your hands off of me!"

Balint responded by slapping his face. Wolfram's eyes widened in shock as he realized the double meaning of the slap. "You—you bastard!"

"Why?" Balint leaned in to his ear and whispered, "It's just too bad that the Maou got to you before me. I wonder what he must have done to make you accept that…" the warm breath against Wolfram's ear disgusted him. There were so many sensations and feelings he could not escape, so many fights he wasn't allowed to participate in.

Wolfram was torn away from his thoughts when Balint kissed him on the cheek.

"AHHH!" Wolfram screamed, and this earned him another embarrassing slap across the face.

"Don't fight something that you've always wanted," Balint said as he started to rub Wolfram's chest again. "I guess that no one at the palace was man enough to pursue you like I did." He smiled and admired Wolfram for a moment, letting his eyes wander over Wolfram, and Wolfram started to feel sick to his stomach again.

"What do you want?" Wolfram asked, tears tracing the soft lines of his face. "What do you want from me? I don't love you. I never loved you, or felt anything for you besides pride! I have a fiancé, and I love him…" He lowered his head and closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the hands on his body. "I love Yuuri so much…"

Balint pulled his hands away from Wolfram's chest and slammed them back down, knocking the wind out of Wolfram. As he gasped for breath, the other man pulled Wolfram's head up and hissed in his ear, "You don't know the meaning of love. To be so close to you, not able to touch you…" Balint touched Wolfram's face again, wiping away tears that were the sign of his pain and sadness, "…holding back, day after day, not being good enough for you."

Wolfram sobbed. /I know that pain all to well./ His captor misunderstood his sobs, though, and said, "I see that you're starting to understand. Don't worry, Wolfram, I'll give you a good home here. I'll show you how much my love means."

/Is this the disgust Yuuri feels/ Wolfram wondered. He hated the hands on his face, the breath on his ear…he even hated how the tears were wiped from his face. All of it disgusted him.

"I hate you…" Wolfram tried to say. His sobs made his voice inaudible, and he tried to scream, and he didn't care what the consequences were, he just needed to get that message across. While his attention was focused, Balint pulled his face up and kissed him on the lips.

Wolfram screamed into the kiss, tried to pull away, but his head was held in place. His fear had nearly swallowed him, but his disgust brought him back to his senses. As Balint pulled away, smiling and looking very pleased, Wolfram glared. "How could you…that was my first kiss…" He looked away at the ground and an explosion occurred inside of him.

/I'm dead already./ He thought. /When he releases me, whatever he wants to do with me, then I'll wait until I have an opening, corner him, and torch him with Majutsu. His guards will kill me then./

/I can't let Yuuri die, though. I'll have to work harder than that, but I…./

"Stunned?" Balint asked. He lifted Wolfram's chin and smiled at him. "Now you know how strong my love is. Wolfram…" he leaned in again, waiting for Wolfram to return the kiss.

"How could you…." Wolfram repeated before.

/How could you kiss me? Touch me? Expect me to love you/ He shook as he realized that he wanted Yuuri to reciprocate his own feelings.

/I would never do this to him, though…I know that he'll have to come to his senses…/ He stared at the lips in front of him. /That's all I can hope for, even if I can't admit that it's just hope, and that I don't know if he'll ever love me. But I would never do this…/

"How could you…HOW COULD YOU?" Wolfram shouted. Everyone called him a brat, and he knew that he always wanted his way (who didn't?) and would go to extreme measures to get it, but he wouldn't do this to someone he loved. He wouldn't do it to anyone. "How can you force your feelings on me?"

Balint glared at him and kissed him roughly, forcing his tongue in Wolfram's mouth this time. Tears spilled out of the prince's eyes and, in an act of courage, he bit Balint's lip as hard as he could.

His captor pulled away and punched him this time, sending Wolfram into a half-fallen, half-standing position that bruised his wrists as they were twisted in the cuffs. "You bastard…" he growled as he pulled Wolfram up to look at him. There was a small trail of blood leaving the corner of the prince's mouth, and Balint wiped this away. "You made me hurt you, even though I love you. You need to be careful from now on."

Wolfram sobbed as the hands touched his face again, oblivious to the pain they caused to the sensitive, bruising skin. /I'm dead now, and I know that. One way or another. If I can get back home, then…no, I need to get Yuuri home. Please be safe, Yuuri…/

He steeled himself. He was going to fight.

"What have you done to Yuuri?"

Balint glared at him, and released his chin. "He's being held in the next room." He said, adding, "Not that that will help you."

Wolfram's eyes shot open. "He could hear everything…" His face reddened in shame. /I wonder if Yuuri knows that another man kissed me…/

Yuuri did not know, but the pain in his heart grew as he listened to the rest of the conversation. Wolfram had become quiet again, and Yuuri heard soft whimpers coming from the next room.

The low voice became a little louder. "Now that I have you, you're going to stay here and you're going to learn to love me." This time, he couldn't hear Wolfram's response.

"That's right. It's time for you to forget about your fiancé, and to finally be happy."

"I was happy enough with Yuuri." Wolfram's voice was very soft.

"What? With that kid?" The low voice laughed. "How could a child like make you happy? How could he fulfill your desires? I know that you want to be touched, but you yourself said that you don't have any of that experience."

"Shut up! He'll hear you!"

Chuckling. "Did I strike a nerve?"

"Shut UP!"

"Well, then, how is this? Has he ever done this?"

Yuuri felt dirty for listening to their conversation. After all, whatever was going on in the next room wasn't something he really wanted to think about.

Wolfram whimpered and Yuuri found himself straining his ears. /I hope that he's not hurting him, at the very least./ He thought.

"How about this?"

Wolfram sobbed loudly. "Stop it! Why would you do this? He can probably hear you!"

"Embarrassed because you like it?"

"SHUT UP!"

The room was still for a few moments, and Yuuri could only hear two things: the sound of his own heartbeat and the sound of the water dripping.

/Water/

He heard Wolfram sob again. "Take your hands off me! What's wrong with you? How can you like doing this, because I said no?"

"I'd love it even if you said yes."

"What-what are you—" Yuuri heard the sound of tearing fabric.

"And I'll love it when you do say yes, Wolfram."

"Stop—stop it! Get off!"

Yuuri's heart pounded in his ears. Was the Maou not coming out because his life wasn't in danger? Because he was in a bad place?

He remembered the time that the Original King had put a spell on Yozak, Adelbert, and one of the Mazoku soldiers. He had been able to access his powers then without the Maou, so maybe, this time…

He stared at the puddle of water and concentrated.

"Get off! Take your hands off me! DON"T TOUCH ME!"

As Wolfram screamed, Yuuri felt himself change.

/No…/ He thought. /I'll do it. I want to do this myself./

Suddenly, Yuuri's familiar water dragons burst out of the pool of water. One bit on to each side of the cuff on his right hand, and they easily broke it and moved to the next one. Once free, Yuuri rubbed his wrists and stared at the dragons for a moment.

"You two aren't going to disappear on me, are you?"

The dragons stared back placidly. Yuuri saw his reflection in the dragons—he was surrounded by light. What was more, was that inside that light he saw himself.

Shibuya Yuuri.

Yuuri did not have the time or curiosity to wonder about his lack of transformation, though. Wolfram's cries ceased for a moment and the guard outside Yuuri's door barged in, shouting, "What the hell was that—"

Yuuri watched as one dragon head-butted the guard back into the hall. He followed it and saw, thankfully, that the man was still breathing.

He turned on his heel and ran for the next door. His dragons outpaced him and burst down the door, just in time for Yuuri to see Wolfram chained to the wall, green overshirt gone, white shirt pushed up past his stomach, with a dark-haired man holding his sides and kissing him as he struggled.

Yuuri was pissed.

Wolfram's eyes shot open as he heard the door break and he saw Yuuri standing in the doorway, glaring at the scene in front of him. His face reddened and more tears streaked down his cheeks as his captor turned to Yuuri, removing his hands from his body. "Yuuri, I—!"

Yuuri's attention was on Balint, though. "How dare you!" His dragons broke Wolfram's cuffs as Wolfram stared at his fiancé in fear.

If Yuuri had been the Maou, he would have given a 'justice' speech, punished Balint in a fantastic and gross manner, and passed out. However, Yuuri was not used to his power, so he simply directed his dragons to smash their heads into Balint.

"Yuuri…" Wolfram whispered as he watched the act of violence. /Has Yuuri changed so much, or his he just so angry…/

Wolfram's question was answered as he saw Yuuri panic and stop his dragons after they had crashed into Balint once and tried to move in again for more. "That's it, guys, ease up!" He walked over to Balint and said, "Oh, crap."

Wolfram was surprised to see his fiancé kneel down by their mutual captor and check his neck for a pulse. "Good, he's still alive…" Yuuri looked up at his dragons. "Can you two follow me and help me get out of here?"

More placid staring.

/What the hell/ Wolfram wondered. /Is Yuuri using magic without becoming the Maou/

Yuuri smiled at his dragons. "Thanks, guys." He turned to Wolfram, who was waiting, and had been waiting, to see Yuuri's reaction to the situation he'd found him in.

Yuuri smiled at him, too, and reached for his hand.

"Let's run."

------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------OMEGA

A/N: OMG y'all sorry for taking so long to update. Sorry for the cliffhanger, it wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger, I just got real busy and stuff, see? Also, I couldn't remember the name of the soldier who fought Wolfram when Shinou put Adelbert and Yozak under his spell. He DOES have a name, I just don't remember.


	5. Black

A/N: Someone reviewed and said the last chapter was weird. Good weird or bad weird?

Will watch out for grammar this time, I swear.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

The Day With Wolfram 5

Black

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuuri smiled at Wolfram, and reached for his hand.

"Let's run."

Wolfram stared dumbly at Yuuri's hand for a moment. How many times before had he taken Yuuri's hand (or, less gently and more effectively, his wrist) and pulled him after himself in similar situations?

More importantly, when before had Yuuri offered to take HIS hand?

He reached limply for Yuuri's hand, and Yuuri seized him and pulled him up. Still in shock, Wolfram straightened his clothing as Yuuri dragged him along after him.

"Let's go!" Yuuri shouted to the two water dragons. They followed Yuuri out of the room, then outpaced him. When the two boys had caught up to the dragons, they found that several guards had been knocked out.

"Whew!" Yuuri said to no one in particular. He looked around, and, still pulling Wolfram with him, ran for an exit.

This was both Yuuri's and Wolfram's first times in this particular castle/dungeon/wherever they were, so 'running for an exit' entailed wandering around and letting the water dragons attack any guards that were nearby. Wolfram regained his composure after a short while, and tugged back on Yuuri's hand to make him stop running.

"Wait." He closed his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Yuuri released Wolfram's hand and put his hand on his back. "Are you not feeling alright? Did he hurt you anywhere?"

/Did he hurt me(?)/ Wolfram thought. His face burned red, but he pushed Yuuri's hand away and snapped, "Shut up. Can you hear that?"

Yuuri stilled and listened to their surroundings.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

"I think the ceiling's leaking."

"Not that, moron." Wolfram closed his eyes and listened again over the sound of his own heart. "We need to go back." He turned away from Yuuri, his hands at his sides and not with either of Yuuri's, and Yuuri stared at his back for a moment.

"What for?" Yuuri asked. He was afraid of what had happened to Wolfram, but he was much more concerned with escaping at that moment.

Still not facing Yuuri, Wolfram said softly, "I could hear birds that way. If we get close to the castle wall, then you can push it down." He waited for a moment, and added, "I can't hear anything any more." He started to walk away from Yuuri, and Yuuri soon followed him, his dragons surging ahead like before.

As he caught up to Wolfram, he looked over Wolfram's face. The prince simply glared at the castle passageway and didn't look back at him.

Wolfram's hands felt cold, but he kept his distance from Yuuri. /I already let go of his hand, which is what I should have done in the first place instead of letting him pull me along like that. The idiot probably didn't even realize what he was doing when he took my hand anyway./

He felt Yuuri's gaze on his face and asked, "What?" irritably.

Yuuri averted his eyes. Wolfram was in no mood to talk, so he would do things Wolfram's way. "Can you hear anything?"

"Why are you asking me? Don't you have ears?" The prince scoffed and walked ahead of Yuuri. Crashing sounds ahead told both of them that more guards had been found.

Yuuri decided to lay off, when Wolfram stopped him by putting a hand up in the air.

"It's here," he said.

Once they were outside the castle, Yuuri found himself following Wolfram again and no words passed between them. It was nighttime by then, and both were in pain from various injuries they'd sustained throughout the day. Yuuri noticed that Wolfram kept touching the left side of his face lightly, then pulling his hand away.

/I wonder why he's not saying anything./ Yuuri thought.

----------------------

Back in Shin Makoku, a very worried Gunter was consoling himself in Gwendal's office, much to Gwendal's displeasure.

"Did your spoiled brother run off to elope with the king again?" Gunter asked, looking very distressed.

Gwendal looked up from paperwork (Yuuri's) and took a sip of tea. "Well, if he had it would be the **first** time." He sighed. "I think that he's just running from his duty again."

Annissina ran into the room, and both men jumped in their seats, hoping that she didn't have a new invention that she wanted to use them for.

"Gwendal!" She shouted, looking at Gunter quickly and then striding up the black-haired advisor's desk.

"What?..." He stared at her for a moment. She looked upset. "…What is it?"

"Cecilie told me that Yuuri isn't back from the festival yet. Do you think that we was kidnapped?"

Gwendal was a little taken aback. "Well, if he was, why would you…"

She answered by clasping her hands together happily and saying, "Oh, I've come up with a new invention that I would like to—"

Gunter bolted for the door. Gwendal, however, stayed rooted to his seat.

Annissina dropped the act. "Actually, I'm worrited. I know that Gunter is worked up enough as it is, and I didn't want to make him jump to conclusions." She took a seat in one of Gwendal's armchairs.

"Why would you be worried?"

Annissina glanced at the door before saying, "Your brother wanted me to tell you that he's sent out a search party, just in case." She feigned a smile. "Who knows, it may be something mundane, like an elopement…"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Annissina and Gwendal both started as they turned to see Gunter standing in the doorway.

In another part of the castle, Cecilie and her second oldest son sat down to dinner with the Great Sage.

The ex-Maou, who believed that her son and his fiancé were just staying out late like many kids there age did, asked, "Why did you send out a search party, Conrad? I mean, the festival is still going on. Why do you think they're not just enjoying themselves?"

"I'm sure that Conrad is just covering the bases," Murata said. Conrad nodded.

"His majesty often forgets his importance in New Makoku, as well as the number of enemies he has," Conrad said. "It's just a preliminary caution."

His mother smiled. "Conrad, you've always been so calm and mature. If you had a son one day, though, I'm sure you'd loosen up about things like that." She turned to the Great Sage. "Kids are supposed to enjoy the time they spend together, right?"

Murata laughed and said, "I don't think that Shibuya has ever enjoyed time spent with Wolfram…"

-------------------------

Midnight found an emotionally and physically exhausted Wolfram leading his fiancé through a pitch-black forest as best he could. They had heard a few horses pass by, but Wolfram had made Yuuri hide each time.

"You idiot," he'd said the first time that Yuuri argued with him. "You let your water dragons go already, so there's no way for either of us to defend ourselves. If we did everything your way, we'd just get captured again!" He'd ended hissing loudly at Yuuri, so loudly that the Japanese boy had clamped a hand over Wolfram's mouth.

Big mistake.

As soon as the horses passed, Wolfram had thrown Yuuri off of him and pushed him so hard that he fell to the ground. He immediately thought of apologizing—in fact, he wasn't even sure of WHY he had pushed Yuuri—but the disgust and anger from the day's earlier events flooded back to him.

Instead of apologizing and helping Yuuri to his feet like an adult, Wolfram had fallen to the ground himself, sobbing again as he had in the castle.

Yuuri stared at Wolfram for a few minutes (or where he thought that Wolfram was) and listened to him cry in silence.

/He had to shoulder the burden this time./ Yuuri thought. He wished that there was something that he could do to help Wolfram, but he didn't know what.

"Wolfram?"

The Maou's voice was soft and forgiving. Wolfram found himself waiting desperately for Yuuri to say something else, to not just call his name in that voice that was more gentle and forgiving than what Wolfram thought he deserved.

In the darkness, he heard something moving towards him, and then one hand was placed on his elbow and the other missed his body completely. Wolfram remained curled up on the forest floor, partially because of the shock that Yuuri had come to him, Yuuri had touched him, Yuuri was…comforting him?

Yuuri's other hand found his shoulder, and he pulled Wolfram towards him. Wolfram let Yuuri do what he wanted, and kept his arms together between their chests.

When he felt Yuuri's hand on the back of his head, he started crying again, and realized that he had been holding back the tears while Yuuri had come to him.

Yuuri held his tongue and waited for Wolfram to talk.

"...Yuuri…" Wolfram said, his voice muffled against Yuuri's neck. He stayed like that for a while, how long he didn't know, hating how he was enjoying this little bit of contact that Yuuri himself probably detested. He calmed down a little, and pushed Yuuri away.

"You don't have to touch me or be close to me like that, if you don't want to." the prince said, none of the usual anger or spite in his voice. "But thank you."

To his surprise, Yuuri wrapped his arms around him and pulled their bodies closer.

"Yuuri—what are you—" he struggled against Yuuri in the dark, but his panic led to his defeat and he fell back against Yuuri, panting and crying again.

"You don't have to go away," Yuuri said while panting. He was out of breath from the brief struggle, too. "This is alright."

/Alright(?)/ The prince thought. /Alright. Not good, not bad, not one way or another./

Wolfram's heart sank. Yuuri didn't want him, and certainly didn't want to be so close to him…he was just comforting him like any other friend.

/If it's Yuuri, though, he wouldn't comfort a boy like this. This is more of the way that he'd act towards girls…/

Now THAT made him want to hit Yuuri. Since when did he deserve such treatment? The anger grew inside of him and he said, "Don't hug me like a damn girl, Yuuri."

Despite this outburst, he didn't push Yuuri away, but rather waited for his response.

"It's not like you're a girl."

"Well, if I was a girl, then you'd actually enjoy it."

They laid in silence for a while. Wolfram thought about what he'd said, half regretting that he had tried to bring something like that up with Yuuri, and half glad that he had been able to confront Yuuri about the hurdles in their relationship. /He's never been straightforward about those things before, and he never cancelled the engagement. He just lets it stay like it is, and he sometimes asks me stupid things like, 'Are we seriously engaged?' and says stupid things like, 'Well it was an accident, so….' or 'I'm too young to think about things like that./ He unconsciously moved closer to Yuuri. /He's always so ambiguous and distant. Even now, I don't understand why he's hugging me./

Yuuri turned over the words in his head. /I don't hate Wolfram because he's a boy. He's my friend and he's clearly in pain, even if he won't tell me about it, so it's only natural that I would…/

He turned his attention to the blonde prince in his arms. Wolfram felt warm breath on his ear for the second time that day when Yuuri said, "Wolfram, if you want to talk about what happened, then I'd like to hear it."

Wolfram was still. He felt for a moment that maybe that touch, and maybe the feeling of Yuuri's body next to his, could erase some of his memories from earlier that day. He knew that this wasn't true, though, and that he'd probably added a new layer to the barrier around him, one that would keep him safe from such disgusting…

"I know why you hate me now," he choked out.

"I don't hate you. I never hated you." Silence. "I didn't like you at all at first. I still don't like everything about you, honestly, but I feel that way towards everyone. There are a lot of good things about you--"

"NO!" Wolfram said, his face close to Yuuri's neck. "Not things ABOUT me. I mean ME. Not whether I can protect you, or whether I'm more decent than you or smarter or anything like that. It's ME you hate."

"I don't hate you…" Yuuri said weakly. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because, I'm always trying to get close to you, to be your fiancé, to be a father to Greta, and you don't want me there!" Wolfram sobbed again. "You don't want me as anything. You see me exactly the same as you see everyone else, from my brother that you care so much about to the King of Big Shimaron, and the Great Sage, and the…" He quieted for a moment, afraid of the consequences of his confession, and then said, "I didn't want you to see me the same as everyone else. I want to be the only person in your eyes. I want to be the most important. But there's no way for me to become that…"

"What's wrong with being the same as everybody else?" Yuuri asked, a little anger in his voice.

"Because I'm in love with you." Wolfram half expected to be pushed away for saying this. It was obvious, though…Yuuri must have known. "You…you don't treat your loved ones the same as everyone else. They're supposed to be important to you…"

Yuuri thought about that for a moment. /I didn't know that he was actually in love with me. I thought that he just held the engagement because he was supposed to, and because he didn't want to dishonor his family. Once again, someone was hurt because of my actions in this world./

"Sorry," he said to the blonde prince. Wolfram shook his head. "It's my fault for thinking I was someone important to you…I mean, looking back, I don't see how I could have made that mistake. I must be so stupid…"

He felt Yuuri's hands on his back, rubbing him and then resting. He held his breath, wondering why Yuuri would touch him like that, but he let it be, wanting to savor whatever sensations he could…

/No! Yuuri is innocent. He doesn't know what his touch and attention does to me. I should stop him, not take advantage of him…"

"Like I said, you don't have to touch me if you don't want to. My back is fine without your hands on it."

"Are you cold?" Yuuri's soft voice was full of concern. "I have extra layers of clothing…this costume is pretty useful, I guess," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm fine."

Yuuri ignored him and said, "Sit up." When Wolfram was sitting next to him, Yuuri removed the outermost jacket from his costume and gently laid it over Wolfram's shoulders like a considerate boyfriend giving his girlfriend his coat on a cold night. Wolfram didn't push it off—rather, he pulled it over his body, savoring in the lingering warmth that had belonged to Yuuri.

/I've become so pathetic./

Yuuri reach out for him, and Wolfram leaned back into his body, accepting this once-in-a-lifetime chance to spend the night laying close to Yuuri. Yuuri's hands found Wolfram's shoulders.

/His body feels good./ the Maou thought. Wolfram was warm, soft, and real, better than he'd thought. He had always said that he was too young to be in a relationship—which he truly believed. He also knew, thought, that fifteen was too young an age to know what he wanted from life.

/I should try it, before I turn it down. That's how I've lived here, and it shouldn't be any different for Wolfram./

"Wolf."

"Hm?" he asked sleepily.

Yuuri's left hand found Wolfram's chin, and he tilted the other boy's face so that their lips we almost touching.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

Wolfram waited in shock for a moment, and then he said, "Don't fucking tease me. It's been a hard day."

"I'm not teasing you."

"You should know the answer to that question," Wolfram said, his face burning. He waited, and then added, "I don't want this kind of pity from you either."

"It's not pity," Yuuri said. Wolfram could feel his soft breath against his lips, proof of their proximity.

"I don't want to take advantage of your kindness." the prince finally answered. "I don't want to say 'yes, kiss me'--" he swallowed in an attempt to control himself and to hide his embarrassment, "—and then wake up tomorrow to find that you hate me even more because we kissed. It would have been my fault then, t—"

He stopped talking when he felt Yuuri's lips lightly touch his own, and his heart beat so hard in his chest that he thought he would pass out. Yuuri quickly pulled his lips away, and then embraced Wolfram again, saying, "Now it's my fault."

Wolfram laid in Yuuri's arms, not sure of what to do. Yuuri had kissed him. Yuuri, who did NOT like being near him, who had not shared a cake with him, who had taken his hand for the first time that day, had KISSED him on the mouth. No ambiguity.

Wolfram pulled away from Yuuri suddenly, so quickly that Yuuri didn't have time to react, and pushed Yuuri onto his back.

"Why did you do that?" Wolfram asked angrily. He wiped his mouth with his hand.

Yuuri's hands found Wolfram's on his shoulders. "I wanted to. I haven't been giving you a chance."

"But why would you kiss me?"

"I wanted to try this, before letting go of it altogether. If you still want me, I'll spend more time with you like this."

Silence.

In spite of himself, Wolfram lowered himself down on to Yuuri and found his face with one of his hands. He touched the Maou's lips lightly.

"Can I kiss you?"

He felt Yuuri nod and he lowered his mouth onto Yuuri's. He immediately realized how soft Yuuri's lips were, and how warm his body had become.

He pulled back after a few seconds, and Yuuri reached up for him and pulled him down to lay beside him again.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow," the Maou said. He held Wolfram's hands in his own, now incredibly unsure of the nature of their relationship.

Wolfram nodded off to sleep, one small hole in his heart filled.


	6. Keys

The Day With Wolfram, Chapter Six

Keys

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Daybreak found a concerned Conrad on horseback, searching the area surrounding New Makoku with a few men from his personal guard. Murata kept him company as he searched for the absent Maou.

Conrad was afraid that Yuuri's and Wolfram's disappearance was due to an error on his part. /I should have advised him to take a few soldiers with him./ He thought. /Yozak, at least, could have followed them in disguise…/

The Great Sage was quiet, for the most part, occasionally breaking the silence during those long periods when Conrad was not talking to one of his soldiers. "I'm sure that Wolfram would have fought very hard to protect him," he offered at one point when Conrad started to show weary. They had been on the road for a few hours by then.

"I don't doubt that, either," Conrad said. It was difficult to imagine Wolfram dying easily…or, if he had died, he would probably have done his best to take the country down with him. "At this point, though, we don't know if they were separated."

Murata nodded. "Well, Shibuya IS the Maou, after all, so he probably found a way out of whatever trouble came his way."

Conrad knew that his parental worrying was apparent to the Great Sage, and so he offered his usual smile. "Yes, you're probably right." He grinned a little wider, adding a little bit of actual happiness to his painful smile. "I don't know if I can say the same for my brother, though."

"Yes, I guess that's true."

--------------------------------------------

Yuuri was alone when he awoke. The warm body that had been next to him during the night, the young man who was so troubled and afraid and defensive, had disappeared and Yuuri wasn't entirely surprised.

He himself wasn't sure of how his next meeting with Wolfram would be. Wolfram had confessed to him, and that would probably lead to a lot of morning-after defensiveness on the demon prince's part.

Yuuri was full of questions, too. Would Wolfram be pushier now? Would he expect Yuuri to return his feelings? And what about the kissing and touching—would he expect that now, too? When he had kissed Wolfram the night before, he had nothing but the blonde's concerns and fears and worries on his mind. Wolfram had needed him, had actually needed him for a long time, and he had started to realize it a while before the latest abduction.

Guilt caught up to Yuuri. If he had been the first to awaken, he knew that he would have considered running away, too.

/Maybe he just needs to collect himself./ Yuuri thought. He knew that he needed to do the same, to sort out his feelings. He had kissed a guy, and he had promised to give Wolfram a chance. He had HELD Wolfram while they slept. He knew that those actions may not have meant to Wolfram, what they meant to him. Wolfram, after all, had thought very little about the two of them sharing a bed when they became engaged.

Yuuri pulled himself together, stood up, and stretched. He was dirty, sweaty, wet from the morning dew and in a sad physical state altogether. He brushed grass and loose dirt from his clothing and decided to look for a nearby stream to wash his face and hands.

Careful to not walk far from his sleeping place, Yuuri climbed a nearby bank, following the sound of rushing water. He quickly saw a spot of bright white on a tree branch near a small stream, which turned out to be Wolfram's shirt.

Curious as to the location of its owner, Yuuri pulled the shirt down and immediately regretted the action. The shirt had been partially blocking the sight of Wolfram, shirtless and kneeling at the edge of the stream. He looked lost in thought as he scrubbed his arms, face, and neck.

Not meaning to be indecent, Yuuri looked away for a moment and calmed himself. Still holding the shirt, he walked towards Wolfram.

If Wolfram had been surprised to see Yuuri walking towards him, he didn't show it. Judging from his reaction, he had seen Yuuri as soon as he had climbed over the bank and had simply ignored him. He continued to wash himself (repeatedly, Yuuri realized) and Yuuri stopped about a meter short of him.

Yuuri watched him as one would watch a friend who was doing something stupid, unable to talk to Wolfram at the moment. He realized that he was trying to keep a little bit of distance between himself and his fiancé, and so he dropped the defenses he hadn't realized he had up and closed the distance between the two of them. He knelt down next to Wolfram, holding the white shirt tightly, and watched and waited.

Wolfram washed his face one last time, and then rinsed his mouth with the stream water and stared into the distance for a moment. He wasn't sure of what to say to Yuuri, so he lowered his hand from his mouth and just turned towards Yuuri slowly.

His green eyes met a concerned face, and he just watched Yuuri's expression. Although Wolfram would usually have been a little flattered if his fiancé had looked at his body, he was glad that Yuuri's eyes stayed on his face and did not wander. His eyes caught the white shirt in Yuuri's hand and he blushed and looked away.

"I didn't want to get it wet," was all that he said.

"Oh."

They were both silent as they looked away from each other. Yuuri started to grow impatient with himself. /Say something to make him feel better!(!)/ One part of his mind screamed. The other part said//I didn't do anything, so…/

Yuuri could tell that Wolfram did not want to be held or comforted right then—that kind of action would probably have completely re-raised his defenses. He had never known anyone who had gone through what Wolfram had gone through, though, so he had no idea of what to say to Wolfram.

The prince suddenly sighed and took his shirt from Yuuri. He turned around to put it on, and Yuuri kept his eyes averted as a tribute to Wolfram's 'modesty'. Wolfram then turned around and held out his hand for Yuuri to take.

Yuuri took his hand and let Wolfram help him up. Something passes between them right then, with the touching of their hands, and Yuuri saw a semblance of real happiness in Wolfram's eyes. His cheeks had flushed a little, too, and Yuuri had the urge to tell him something _good_, something that would keep that look on his face.

Instead, Wolfram folded his arms once he had helped his king to his feet, and looked away. "So, do you have any idea at all as to where the kingdom is?"

/Translation: defenses up./

Yuuri sighed. "Well, I don't know this place at all so our best bet is probably to ask around for he--"

"Have you forgotten who you are already?" Wolfram gave him a small, irritated glare. "If we just go knocking around on doors, then God knows who might decided to make some money by kidnapping the Maou and selling him to one of our enemies."

"Well, you have a point, but if we just—" as he argued with Wolfram, he felt something in his head click. /Why are we fighting? What the HELL happened last night?(?)/

"If we just what?"

Wolfram's face was plastered with his usual look—pretty, yes, but irritable, bratty, angry, and in-control. It broke Yuuri's heart to see him like that, especially after the events of the previous day.

"If we just look around, we might get even more lost, or we might wander back into Balint's territory."

A worried look flashed over Wolfram's face for a moment, and then he said, "Hmph. If we find him, then all the better. I would really like to get my hands on him, that prick." He began to walk off in search of something, Yuuri didn't know what. He was probably just tired of waiting.

"Come on," he said, not looking over his shoulder.

Yuuri started to follow him. /He's acting like nothing happened. He's just going to try to let this pass over, isn't he? Even after what I said…/

The prince's silence aggravated Yuuri to no small degree. He caught up with Wolfram and watched his face. Wolfram simply looked away, lost in thought.

"Wolfram."

No response.

Yuuri grabbed the prince's shoulders and held him in place. "Why aren't you talking to me?"

Wolfram scoffed. "What are you talking about?" He glared at Yuuri, suddenly ready for a fight. Yuuri felt ready, too, but he was much calmer than Wolfram by nature and so he held himself back.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like _what_?"

"Like a child!" Yuuri found himself biting his lip. He knew that he shouldn't have insulted him like that, but Wolfram's behavior was pissing him off. He would usually have brushed it off, but he thought that something had changed between them the night before.

Wolfram pushed his hands off and spat, "Children TRUST people, Yuuri. Children don't wonder why they're being lead into some weird part of town. Children think that there's nothing wrong with asking around for help." He crossed his arms. "What great idea do you have now? Should we go find some other person getting paid off by one of our enemies and go wherever the hell they ask us to go? Well?"

"There is NOTHING wrong with seeing the good in people. Besides," Yuuri said angrily, "there was no way that we could have known that that kid had some other motive. And why would you assume that he was getting paid by Balint?"

"Oh, so a little CHILD would have some other reason to lead us off like that? Was it just for fun, then?"

"Well, maybe his parents were kidnapped or something!"

"TYPICAL! Just TYPICAL!" Wolfram threw his hands up in the air. "Everyone's a good guy! No one actually wants to hurt or use you! How couldn't I see how great the world really was?" His emotions started to flare up.

"I mean, when my brother kept the fact that he was half-human from me, well, why didn't I see how great of a person he was? When my personal guard member tried to force himself on me and INSULTED me by acting like I actually wanted that kind of attention, well, why couldn't I see how great he was? When my childhood friend accused you of seducing me and tried to take me from you, why didn't I see how great she was and HOW WONDERFUL it was that she would do that?" He was riled up and Yuuri knew that the end was not near. "When the king of Shimaron tried to have you killed, how about then? Oh, his great personality was JUST BELOW THE SURFACE, I'm SURE OF IT! When Maxinne tried to kill you, like, three times, when that hero tried to kill you, when Conrad switched sides…" He had started to lose steam, and the tears had returned.

"Oh, I know you're a great person, Yuuri, I really do. But, unlike you, I live in the real world and do NOT have the ability to turn every jackass in this world into a decent human being." He stared at Yuuri for a moment, panting, and waiting for a reaction. Yuuri stared back, his face sad and full of concern.

"And what about Balint, for God's sake? What, if I had stayed there with him like he wanted, and been nice to him and spouted all that crap that you love so much, would he have become a good person then? Would I just have to have let him to have his way with me a few times? Should I have been a good prisoner? WHAT ABOUT THAT?

Not everyone in this world is nice, and it's just fine for you to assume they all are, but other people have to live through the rest of life, the parts you don't see because you're the damn Maou and you're so damn naïve and…and you've never had to suffer like the rest of us." He sobbed for a moment, and then wiped his face on his sleeve.

The two of them just regarded each other for a moment, and then Yuuri said, softly, "I don't know why, but when I believe in other people, they show me what's good about them. That's how my life has always been, and I just never had to see anything else." He thought of apologizing, but Wolfram did not want that.

Wolfram wanted him to understand his pain.

"Everytime you go off and do something STUPID," the prince began again, "there's always a chance that someone else will get hurt. If I can fight, then I can try to keep that from happening. But…" he lowered his eyes. "I don't think you understand your full responsibility."

Yuuri swallowed. He had found out two days earlier that many of Wolfram's personal guards had been injured due to his actions. He had always known that other people may have been in harm's way because of his actions. He still felt that he had gained in the aggregate, that he had improved the world on the whole, but those sacrifices were still inexcusable.

He looked at his fiancé, defeated, and said softly, "You're right. Other people have been hurt. I still think that everyone is good on the inside but…if you feel that strongly, then we'll do it your way."

Wolfram stared at him in shock.

"You're just giving me a chance, and waiting for me to mess up and prove to you that I wasn't right."

"No, I believe in you."

Wolfram rolled his eyes. "Not more of that crap. Don't treat me like all those other people."

Yuuri bit his tongue to keep from saying, 'You are like all those other people.' Last night, he had decided that Wolfram would be different, or rather that he would treat Wolfram differently.

"I'm not trying to treat you the same as everyone else." Yuuri's face burned. "You're Wolfram, my fiancé, and you're often right about things like this. I can get out of bad situations, but only after I've gotten into them. I don't want to put you into another bad situation again, so I'll follow you." His heart started to beat harder in his chest and his throat tightened.

"You'll really follow me?" Wolfram asked. He looked just as torn apart as he had been the night before, emotionally vulnerable and honest.

"Yes. And what I said last night still stands."

--------------------------------------------

Murata had left Conrad's guard to search on his own. It was midday by then, and he had decided to rely on intuition to find his friend and Wolfram.

/I wonder what Shibuya is up to right now/ he thought. Maybe he was punishing evil-doers as usual, or maybe he was in pain and alone in some far corner of the world.

/Well, I don't think he'd let that happen./ Murata thought. /After all, he has Wolfram and--/

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a group of horses coming down the road. The men riding them were not dressed in Conrad's officers' tan uniforms, so Murata quickly led his horse away from the road and watched as the men came and went.

Many of them were injured and unconscious, and nearly all were wet. That made him wonder—the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, without a cloud in sight—so Murata strained to hear them.

"That guy—wow! I didn't know that these demons were THAT strong!"

"Yeah! And that guy wasn't even the Demon King!"

"Once we get into New Makoku, we'll return the damage they dealt! They destroyed the damn castle!"

"Sir Balint sure is mad about the Maou getting away."

/The Maou? They said the MAOU didn't do damage, that someone else did./ Murata was confused, but he thought little of it. /It looks and sounds like they're humans. What are humans doing so far into Mazoku territory(?)/

He couldn't pick out the leader, and the group passed by without noticing him. As soon as he was able, Murata led his horse back to the road and searched for Conrad.

He needed to warn the kingdom about the attack.

--------------------------------------------

Conrad's search had lead him to a wooded area, and he had his men fan out. When night came, they regrouped and he spoke to them quickly.

"We were not able to find the Maou today, so I'll need all of you to participate in the search tomorrow."

Some groaned. Others nodded. None looked happy.

Conrad raced ahead of his men to get back to the castle, and, once there, he met a very grim-looking Gunther.

"Did you find his majesty yet?"

Conrad shook his head. "Not only that, the Great Sage disappeared today as well."

The silver-haired advisor covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh dear, oh dear…."

"I plan on searching tonight, too."

Gunther turned serious and nodded. "I'll help you."

"It's not necessary."

"You shouldn't have to look for him all by yourself." Gunther folded his arms. "I never like sitting in any one place when his Majestry disappears like this anyway."

"Thank you," he said. "Yozak agreed to accompany me as well."

--------------------------------------------

Wolfram had lead Yuuri to a small town (which Wolfram was greatful for, because he had actually been walking aimlessly). They soon found an inn in the town which had a few vacancies.

Yuuri had money, so he had agreed to pay for their room for the night. There was a silent agreement that the two of them couldn't sleep outside again, even if that meant that they would be away from Covenant Castle for a longer period of time.

The hotel manager was a woman whom Yuuri would have thought to be in her forties or fifties. As soon as he had walked in the door, here eyes lit up.

"Why, it's the Maou!" she had said enthusiastically. Yuuri jumped, afraid that she was one of those people Wolfram had told him existed in the world, and Wolfram nudged him.

"Calm down." he said firmly into Yuuri's ear. The woman didn't leave her post or run to pinch his face, so he sighed in relief.

"What may I do for you, your Majesty?" She asked.

"Well, for tonight, I-"

"Oh! I'm so glad that his Majesty would grace my humble hotel! So, you need a room for the night?"

Yuuri found the woman's personality a little overpowering, which he assumed she'd needed for a life of running her own business and managing her own affairs. "Y-yes."

She smiled. "Well, then, don't worry about me over-charging you just because you're royalty. You see, I'm a big fan." She took a key down from the wall behind her, and then looked quickly at Wolfram. "He with you?" she asked, her voice intentionally void of insinuations.

"Yes, I am," the prince responded.

The woman placed the key back on the wall, and took down another one instead. She motioned for them to follow her down the hallway to her right.

"Well, I'll give you the five-gold tour. This hotel was built during the last Maou's reign, and has been updated with…" Yuuri tuned her out. The woman had not asked if he would share a bed with Wolfram, and he was a little curious about her assumption.

Curious? Afraid? Excited? He wondered if things would be different at night, since his conversation with Wolfram.

"…and there are bathing facilities in every room, I might add. Dinner is not served here, but there are many restaurants nearby…" she stopped and unlocked a room. "I assumed you'd like this room. It's usually reserved for unwed fiancés."

Yuuri saw two beds.

Wolfram pushed him into the room and then turned to the inn keeper. "If it's for fiancés, then why are there two beds?"

"Ah." The woman smiled. "In this little corner of the world, men and women sleep in different beds until they're married. That's why this room is also suitable for, say, two men who are traveling together."

"Oh." Wolfram suddenly dropped the topic. It was painfully obvious to Yuuri that he didn't want to force their sleeping conditions…

Ah, to hell with it.

Yuuri smiled. "Well, actually, I was hoping that we could get a room with one large bed."

The woman's eyes opened. "Oh, I see. You two are intended?" Yuuri nodded weakly, having realized that that kind of thing may not have been accepted in 'this little corner of the world'. Wolfram simply stared at him.

"Well, if that's the way it is, then I'll go get another key," she said. The inn keeper locked the door and turned on her heel, leaving Yuuri with his fiancé.

Wolfram stole a look at Yuuri's reddened face and said softly, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Their eyes met, and Yuuri couldn't help but smile. Wolfram smiled back every so slightly, and then turned his attention back to the woman who was returning.

--------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, the Great Sage had lost his way and was slowly wandering back to New Makoku while watching the stars. He felt badly for his horse, who must have been just as thirsty and hungry as he was.

Murata heard the sound of horses' hooves, and when he looked back at the road he was on he saw Sir Weller and Sir Fornchrist approaching.

/I hope that Shibuya and Wolfram are well./

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Author's note: the ("five gold tour") is the Makoku take of "fifty-cent tour". I don't know what Makoku currency is so I made somethin' up.

Thank you for all the reviews. Also, who wants the fic to get bumped up to M? I'm serious.


	7. The Distance

The Day With Wolfram, Chapter Seven

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Gunter rushed into Gwendal's office early the next morning. "Terrible news! Er…" he looked around, seeing that Gwendal was not there.

The advisor nearly screamed. "Bad, bad, bad omen!" he shouted, slamming shut the door to Gwendal's office as he searched Blood Pledge Castle.

He found the black-haired Mazoku in the dining room, drinking tea and trying to wake up enough to deal with certain over-the-top noblemen and eccentric noblewomen.

"Sir Von Walde!" Gunter shouted, running to Gwendal and nearly falling down when he reached him. "Terrible news!"

Gwendal grunted. "It's not about my brother and the Maou eloping, is it?"

Gunter was shocked for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "It's not about that selfish loafer! The Great Sage learned of a small army that plans to attack New Makoku!" He pulled on his hair. "And the dear Maou isn't back yet! What if he gets caught up in this? Ah! It'll be my fault!"

Gwendal gave him a bizarre look. "Well, he IS our king, so the attack would be his problem anyway." He finished his tea before standing up. "Where are the Great Sage and Conrad?"

"Well, they decided to stay out to look for his Majesty and the Prince."

"What?" Gwendal held his head in his hands for a moment. "We're about to come under attack. Our king is gone. Our best swordsman is gone."

"I'm still here!"

"Our best PRACTICING swordsman is gone. And Wolfram…" he sighed. "He may be a brat, but he's an excellent soldier and his majutsu can only be bested by the Maou. Not only that, but the Great Sage is in danger."

Gunter nodded. "It's all so terrible!"

Gwendal said, "Yes, it is, but we still have an army. If we're lucky, the enemy will not be very strong. We've grown too used to depending on that boy Maou for our own safety."

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

When Wolfram awoke, he felt warmer than usual, and relaxed. He stayed like that for a few moments, not opening his eyes, but simply enjoying whatever he was feeling right then.

Something next to him moved, and he opened his eyes quickly to see Yuuri lying next to him on his back, black eyes wide open, and staring at the ceiling. He noticed that his left arm was slung across Yuuri's chest, and Yuuri held Wolfram's left wrist with his right hand, keeping him close, and keeping him in place.

Wolfram took all this in, then shut his eyes quickly so that Yuuri would not realize that he was awake. He didn't want Yuuri to push him away because he was embarrassed, and he knew that he himself should have pushed Yuuri away, should have said something about 'taking privileges', but he didn't want to.

Yuuri was…holding him.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

_I need to get used to this. It's for Wolfram. If I can't get used to being close to him, or touching him…it just wouldn't be fair to him. His body feels nice enough, anyway, even if I'm just hugging him or lying next to him._

_There's more than that, though. How far does he want to go? What do I need to be prepared to do?_

Yuuri felt Wolfram's heartbeat and breathing patterns change, and he knew that his fiancé had awoken. He didn't move, though. He'd been in that position with Wolfram for the last hour, and he at least wanted Wolfram to see that he was alright with certain amounts of physical proximity.

He turned his head to look at Wolfram's face. Wolfram had closed his eyes, and there was a look of frustration in his face. Yuuri unconsciously reached for Wolfram, letting go of Wolfram's wrist and letting his fingers touch his cheek.

Wolfram's green eyes shot open in surprise, and he sat up quickly, pulling away from Yuuri.

They stared at each other for a few moments, and a look of realization came onto Wolfram's face.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwww! My arm fell asleep!" the prince shouted, rubbing his left arm quickly, and averting his eyes from Yuuri.

Yuuri wasn't quite sure of what to make of this. _Maybe he's just trying to pretend that nothing happened. It's something he would do._

Wolfram glared at him then, and Yuuri jumped back.

"What are you staring at, you wimp?" he demanded of Yuuri.

Yuuri gave him a look. "I was just wondering if your arm was okay."

"Well, it just fell asleep. It's nothing for you to worry about." With that, feeling came back into Wolfram's arm, and he started to flex his fingers.

His eyes found Yuuri's face again, and he found that he was still being stared at.

"What?" he demanded before throwing a pillow at Yuuri.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Murata had searched for Shibuya and Wolfram all night with the help of Sir Weller, but there were no leads on either of them. There were no reports of a young man with black hair, or a blonde with green eyes.

They stopped to let their horses rest and to eat at a restaurant in one of the towns they came across.

As they sat down, Murata asked Conrad, "Do you think that they're still in this country?"

The soldier shook his head. "We have no way of knowing. They've been gone for two days now, and that's enough time for them to cross anyone of our borders." He sighed. "I hope that this was just a childish act of Wolfram's and that Yuuri will return home soon."

"I don't know if Wolfram would have done something like this. He DOES know that Yuuri is very important to the country, after all," Murata countered.

"Yes, but if you had grown up with Wolfram, you'd know that he often doesn't follow the most logical course of action."

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

"YUURI!"

His Majesty King Yuuri looked over his shoulder to see Wolfram fuming at him. Yuuri had been speaking with a shop owner (a woman, in Wolfram's eyes) about the nearby towns, and the conversation had been completely innocent…

Yuuri tried to let it go.

The woman he'd been speaking to looked over his shoulder. "Do you know him?" she asked.

"Heh heh…yeah…" Yuuri said, not sure of how to answer. He knew that Wolfram was listening, though, so he said, "He's my fiancé," very quickly so that he could not stop himself partway through the admission.

The woman stared at him for a second.

"What?"

Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek. _She has a problem with it? But I still need to…it's for Wolfram…_

"He's, uh, my fiancé. We're going to get married."

"Oh." The woman blinked, and said, "Good luck with that."

Yuuri thanked her and nervously turned around to see Wolfram standing with his arms folded, looking down the road they'd walked down, obviously pretending that he hadn't heard Yuuri.

He snapped his head in Yuuri's direction and barked, "Did you get directions?"

"Yeah."

Wolfram now turned his whole body in Yuuri's direction, and asked, "Where to, then?"

Yuuri sighed inwardly. "We have to go back through the other side of the town, and follow that road. When the road meets a forest, it will intersect another road. We're supposed to take the new road by turning right, and that will take us back to New Makoku."

"Well, good," Wolfram said. Something seemed to have agitated him, and he seemed flustered. He surprised Yuuri by suddenly grabbing his hand and pulling him down the road in the direction Yuuri had told him they were supposed to go.

Yuuri let himself be pulled at first, but then he pulled his hand away from Wolfram's forcefully. When Wolfram turned around to object, he took Wolfram's hand in his own and interlaced their fingers.

He held up their linked hands and asked, "It's okay like this, right?"

Wolfram could only reply by staring at him in silence.

Yuuri had actually accepted him.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

When Murata and Conrad began to mount their horses, a flash of black caught Murata's eye. When he looked away from his horse, he saw none other than the Demon King himself walking down the road, and holding hands with his bratty, blonde, male fiancé.

Conrad had seen it too, and he stared at the odd sight for a moment before smiling. "Well, I'm glad that's taken care of," he said before mounting his horse.

Murata smiled and nodded before mounting his own horse. "So, are we going to pick them up and bring them to New Makoku?" he asked.

The soldier blinked. "Of course, Great Sage. I don't know what else we'd do after finding them."

"We could…make it a little more fun…"

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Yuuri wiped the sweat from his forehead as he trudged down the road with Wolfram. They'd stopped holding hands hours ago, partially due to the fact that Wolfram had become embarrassed and had pushed Yuuri away. The day had become hotter since that morning, and even the ever-dignified Wolfram was showing signs of weariness.

The prince kept silent, though, and chose to take his mind off the heat by ridiculing his fiancé.

"Are you hot, you wimp?" he asked Yuuri after neither of them had spoken for a while. Yuuri glared in his general direction. There was a smug look on Wolfram's face, though Yuuri didn't know what had put it there.

Yuuri sighed. "I'm not used to this. Whenever we have to cover a lot of ground, there are usually horses and carriages."

"Hpmh. If you had endured soldier training, you'd know better than to complain about days like this." The blonde boy smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

_Soldier training, huh?_

"How long has it been since your training?" Yuuri suddenly asked him.

Wolfram stared at him in surprise, then said, "It's been about twelve years since I completed my training. I still practice swordfighting and majutsu frequently, though."

"Makes me think of baseball," Yuuri said absentmindedly.

"That GAME again?" Wolfram asked, now agitated. "I guess that if you like chasing around balls or running around, that that would be entertaining." He shot Yuuri a sideways look. "Or is it because Weller likes it too?"

"It has nothing to do with that!"

"Then why would you get defensive about it?"

Yuuri threw his hands up in the air. He thought about retorting, but…there was no reason. He would just have to calm down, and wait for Wolfram to get out of whatever mood he was in.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Murata watched them from a ways back. Conrad seemed to have lost interest in his brother and Yuuri…possibly because the fun had warn off after watching them, completely unnoticed, for the first hour.

"Hey," the Great Sage said, "Aren't we getting close to home?"

Conrad looked at their surroundings. "I think we're still a ways off."

Murata sighed. "You want to just pick them up? We'll probably get home faster."

Conrad nodded, and he guided his horse into a gallop. Murata followed suit, and they began to close in on Yuuri and Wolfram.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Upon hearing the sounds of horses's hooves, Yuuri turned around to see none other than Conrad and Murata approaching. He was a little shocked but mostly overjoyed, and he started to jump up and down and to wave at them.

"Murata! Conrad!" he shouted.

"What are you--" Wolfram turned around and sneered. "Since when did they get here?" he spat angrily. Yuuri chose to ignore him.

Murata smiled widely at Yuuri when they had caught up to him. "Enjoying your vacation, Shibuya?" he asked.

"Well, sort of…" Wolfram shot him a glare.

"I'm glad to see you're safe, Your Majesty," Conrad said, waiting for Yuuri to respond with his usual, 'Don't call me that! You're the Man Who Named Me!'.

Instead, Yuuri sighed and shook his head. "I just want to get back home now…" He looked at Murata's and Conrads horses.

_Two horses. Four people._

_Puzzle time._

_Wolfram will want to ride with me…I've appeased him enough recently._

_Conrad would let me ride with him._

_Murata would let me ride with him, but Wolfram will not want to ride with Conrad._

_So, I could ride with Conrad and Murata could ride with Wolfram…but Wolfram will say I'm flirting with Conrad and he'll make a big deal out of it._

_I could just appease him…after all, we're supposed to be getting closer—I mean, I'm supposed to let him get closer to me—I mean, I want to get closer to Wolfram—_

"What are you doing, you wimp?" Wolfram asked. Yuuri looked around to see that Wolfram was no longer standing next to him.

He saw Wolfram sitting on Murata's horse, with Murata still on it.

_WHAT?_

Wolfram glared at him. "Hurry up and ride with Conrad. You wanted to get back home, didn't you?"

Yuuri stared at him, then shook his thoughts off and obeyed.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Teenagers could be so strange. That was Conrad's analysis, at least, as he watched Wolfram try to avoid Yuuri.

He knew that Wolfram often denied the way he truly felt, and this was most likely the product of that side of his personality.

_Something must have happened since they left the castle, _he thought. Yuuri had fallen silent soon after the 'elopers' had been 'rescued', so Conrad planned to talk to him later.

In all honesty, he was afraid for Wolfram. His feelings did not coincide with Yuuri's, and it was their feelings that both boys usually acted on. Yuuri had never been in any position to be hurt by Wolfram, their first fight notwithstanding, but Wolfram, for all of his defenses and distancing and cover-ups, was incredibly vulernable.

Conrad wondered if the boy dozing behind him could have hurt Wolfram, intentionally or not.

He shook his head. The sun was setting and New Makoku was still not in sight. The Great Sage seemed to be in good condition for not having slept over the past few days, and Wolfram, though still awake, had fallen silent. Conrad noticed that Wolfram was sitting rather stiffly behind Murata.

_He doesn't want to be close to anyone other than Yuuri, does he? _Conrad mused. _That's why he hasn't fallen asleep yet._

Wolfram's soldier training might have been a factor too, but Conrad chose to ignore it.

Murata let his horse slow down so that he and Conrad were side by side, and he asked, "How's Shibuya?"

Conrad looked at the Great Sage to see that Wolfram had looked away, not wanting to see Yuuri so close to his half-brother, even if he was the one who had decided that they would ride together. "I think he'll be fine," he replied.

"That's good." Murata faced the road and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I think that we'll need to stop in a while, either by finding a hotel or setting up camp."

"You two didn't bring any supplies…" Wolfram grumbled, still not looking at Yuuri or Conrad.

Murata laughed. "Oh we didn't, now did we? Well, we'll just go to the next town then."

"As the Great Sage wishes," Conrad said, smiling at his younger half-brother.

"Hpmh."

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

They arrived at the next town soon after, and found a hotel with a few spare rooms. Wolfram did not protest when Murata asked for two rooms with two beds. He did not want to force Yuuri to try to appease him like a child.

The rooms they were assigned were across the hall from each other. Wolfram stared at the doors to their rooms, as if he was going to make a suggestions about sleeping arrangements, when Murata grabbed his arm and pulled him into one of the rooms, leaving Conrad standing in the hallway, holding a still-sleeping Yuuri and the key to the other room.

"What--" Wolfram tried to protest.

Murata grinned like a madman. "We're traveling buddies now! That means that we're going to share a room!"

Wolfram stared at him, and his anger drained away. "Oh…I guess that's alright." he said, sitting down on the far bed in defeat.

"Of course it is!" The Great Sage struck a 'teacher's pose', with one hand on his hip and the other waving in the air with his index finger up, telling Wolfram he intended to make a point. "I think that you had a good idea about the riding assignments, Wolfram!" he said, accenting each word by jabbing the air. "Until we get back to New Makoku, you and I will eat, sleep, and ride together, and Shibuya will do the same with Conrad!"

Wolfram bit his lip and looked away. "Yes…I guess that's right."

Frustrated but not showing it, Murata continued. "After all, you won't have to be around Yuuri then. And Yuuri sees Conrad like a father figure, and he hasn't been able to see him over the last two days, so I'm sure that they have a lot of catching up to do!" He sat down on his bed with a flourish and continued. "I think that we have a lot of catching up to do, too!"

Wolfram blinked. "Like what?"

Murata smiled at him evilly. "Well, you and I haven't really been able to become friends yet, so there are a lot of things we can talk about so that we can get to know each other?"

"I…don't really want to…."

"It's perfectly alright!" Murata said, cutting off his protest. He shifted so that he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and he leaned forward on his elbows, giving a confused Wolfram his full attention.

"What kind of sports do you like, Wolfram?" he asked, smiling at the prince.

Wolfram sat back on his bed, somehow intimidated by this very strange person. Murata had been correct in saying that they weren't friends.

_What the HELL is the Great Sage up to?_

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Conrad sighed as he carefully lowered Yuuri onto one of the beds in what was now their hotel room. It had bothered him that Wolfram had not requested to share a bed, or at least a room, with the Demon King. Something had happened between them, and Wolfram was trying to push Yuuri away.

He briefly checked over his godson's body for wounds. Yuuri hadn't complained about any injuries, but Conrad knew better than to accept Yuuri's condition at face value.

He found the wounds on Yuuri's wrists from when he had been cuffed, and he wondered where they had come from. Also, if he had indeed been handcuffed, what else had happened during his capture? Had he or Wolfram been injured? Conrad doubted that either of them had been tortured for information, since Wolfram was too stubborn and Yuuri, too brave and stupid, to give up information before being wounded severely.

Some injuries, though, were not purely physical.

He would have to ask the two of them tomorrow.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Notes:

No M-rating yet. If/when it happens, the story will of course be moved to the M section.

It's painful, but I must apologize for the lack of updates. The reviews I've received have been wonderful. M.L. Patton, you are actually what inspired me to keep going. Once again, this is a very painful admission.

Thank you for reading the Day With Wolfram. No, it's not over yet, just sayin' thanks anyway.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------


	8. Mood

The Day With Wolfram, Chapter Eight

Moods

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

"Wol-fram!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Wol-fram!"

The blonde prince scowled as he tried to walk away from Murata Ken, who seemed to enjoy his ability to torment Wolfram by doing nothing at all. The two boys were currently playing a one-sided game of tag in the dining area of the hotel in which they were staying.

Wolfram glared at the Japanese boy who was following him as he tried to 'lose' him by walking around a table, then ended up circling the table over and over with Murata, neither of them gaining any territory. It was so aggravating, keeping that same amount of distance between them! _I wish that I could either get away from him, or get close enough to cut his head off. Great Sage or not, he show know better than to provoke me!_

But everytime that Wolfram took the initiative and Murata became his pray, he felt a little part of himself die. He did not want to admit it that he was THAT annoyed by the Great Sage, that any person could get under his nerves by simply following him.

"Woru-furamu!"

Wolfram turned on his heel, and, against his better judgement, drew his sword on Murata. "That is NOT how my name is pronounced!" he shouted, and Murata laughed and took a step back.

Conrad yawned as he entered the dining area. "Did something happen?" he asked with a good-natured smile.

His younger half-brother blushed and put his sword away. "No, Weller, nothing happened," he said in a steely voice, glaring at Murata as he smiled back.

Wolfram did not fail to notice how quickly Yuuri entered the dining area after Conrad. He nodded at his fiancé, who gave him a confused look as he glanced at Conrad.

/_Why did I wake up in Conrad's room/_ he meant to ask.

Wolfram shrugged and looked away.

Murata took the moment of silence to walk up to Yuuri. "Shibuya, did you know that Wolfram liked to dress up as a dragonslayer when he was a child?"

The prince's face colored then, and he shouted, "Murata, shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!"

Yuuri could only stare at Murata. "Huh?"

His best friend just smiled back, and said, "He also prefers vanilla to chocolate. Did you know that?"

"Uh…no…"

"What are you on about, Murata?" Wolfram asked, giving both Japanese boys a shared glare.

Murata turned away and shrugged. "I don't know, it's just that I wanted you to know that I and Wolfram are on the road to becoming friends, is all, Shibuya."

Yuuri stared at his back, trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, I guess that's good…"

Wolfram turned on him, and Yuuri took a step back. "What does THAT mean, you wimp?" the blonde shouted at him with a rage that Yuuri couldn't understand.

"Well…I mean, I guess it's better than if you two hated each other…"

"And why would we hate each other?"

"Wolfram, keep it down," Conrad said under his breath. Wolfram looked around the dining area, and he noticed that their little group had attracted quite a bit of attention from the other hotel guests.

Turning away from Yuuri, he said, "Hmph. I've lost my appetite, so I'll be back in my room."

As he left, Murata shouted after him, "See you later, roomie!" and the blonde prince's shoulders stiffened visibly.

Yuuri sat down across from Conrad, and he asked, "What's wrong with Wolfram?"

The half-blood swordsman shrugged. "I think he's just in one of his moods. He may act completely different the next time you see him."

Murata nodded as he sat down. "That's Wolfram for you. Hot one minute, cold the next."

Yuuri stared at Murata as his friend met his confusion with a secretive smile.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Wolfram fell back onto his bed in defeat. _What's that Murata thinking? It wouldn't be so strange if he'd acted outgoing and interested from the moment we'd first met, but now it's just…confusing. Why does he want to be friends all of a sudden? And why with me? Shouldn't he be running to Yuuri's side, that cheater…_

But the odd thing was that Murata had come to HIM, not Yuuri. He clamped a hand to his mouth and his eyed widened. _Does Murata…have a THING for me now? Probably not…most guys are straight anyway…even my fiancé…is actually…_

He tried to banish the though from his mind. _Well, most men are heterosexuals, and Murata is probably a heterosexual too. He's never shown any interest in any woman, though…at least not that I know of…I actually thought the only other gay man in New Makoku was Gunter. Well, even if he is gay, then why me, and why now, of all times?_

_It's probably the now that worries me the most. We were never close before, so it must have been something that happened very recently…maybe…could it be that he was hiding his feelings for me, and he realized them after I was kidnapped?_

_No, that's stupid. He's not acting like he's in love with me._

_How does someone act when they're in love? How do I act around Yuuri?_

_Well…well now that he's come to accept me, I feel guilty. It was one thing when I was working against his defenses, trying to get close to him, but now that he's trying to be with me I just feel guilty getting close to him. It's like I'm taking advantage of his kindness._

_It really is just his kindness that's driving him towards me, isn't it?_

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Gwendal's blue eyes scanned the horizon. There were no enemy troops camped near the castle, so he suspected that the enemy was small, fast, or both.

"Gwendal?" came Annissina's high-pitched voice.

Gwendal turned to see his childhood friend standing in the doorway, watching him with concern. He tried to smile back at her reassuringly, but smiling was difficult for him, so he simply nodded back. "What is it?"

She sighed and walked into the room. "Gunter is preparing the troops right now, but I don't know if they'll cut it…"

He glared at her. "Make yourself clear."

Annissina smiled. "I have a new invention that'll do the trick, Gwendal! And I just need you so I can test it out!"

"Get out."

She pouted. "I'm serious! Have a little faith, will you?" Unfazed by his glare, she sat down in the chair that faced his desk, and continued.

"I have synthesized a new gemstone that greatly increases the magical power of its user. It leaves the user tired afterwards, so I'm calling it maryoku-from-the-future-kun!" She finished her short explanation by pulling a ring out of her pocket and throwing it at Gwendal.

Gwendal, who knew better than to touch, smell, or even look at Annissina's inventions, stepped to the side and let the ring fall on the floor. He gave it a look of disgust and Annissina snatched the ring off the floor.

"Come on, Gwendal!" she said, grabbing his hand. The much larger and much stronger black-haired Mazoku fought against her, but Annissina prevailed; the ring soon found itself on his little finger, and he jerked his hand away.

"Annissina! For the love of--"

As he shouted, he gestured in the air and Annissina reached for his hand, shouting, "Don't!"

It was too late, though; the castle's foundations had already been torn by Gwendal's ring-enhanced earth-majutsu, and the castle settled down into its new resting place.

Gwendal stared at the red-headed woman, who smiled back and him and shrugged.

"I think we're both to blame, personally."

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Gunter stared at the damaged castle with his mouth hanging open. If it were not for that expression, he would have looked much more dignified than usual; after all, since the brothers were all gone or otherwise occupied, he'd been assigned the duty of leading the New Mazoku army in the upcoming battle, so he had donned a commander's uniform and cape.

However, there was nothing dignified about the silver-haired man's horrified expression as he took in the 'new' castle. The whole works had sunken about ten feet into the ground, and a few soldiers had found temporary solutions for the doorways…ramps and the like, most of which were flimsy affairs.

"TERRIBLE!" Gunter grabbed his head and screamed, then whirled around to look at the men he'd been talking to. "WHO DID THIS?"

Each soldier stared at him, afraid of being blamed, but as he prepared to advance upon them their ad-hoc sovereign and an eccentric female inventor ran out of the castle, using one of the afore-mentioned ramps.

Gwendal ignored the panicking Gunter as he surveyed the damage. Annissina simply whistled as she stood beside him, waiting for his judgement.

"Well…at least it works." he said finally, then he turned to Annissina. "I could kill you very easily right now, if I WANTED to, couldn't I?"

She smiled nervously. "That just about sums it up, Gwendal."

Gunter continued to stare at the castle, not quite sure of what had happened. "What…what a bad omen…"

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Yuuri caught sight of Wolfram as the blonde prince made his way back to the dining area.

"Wolf!" Yuuri shouted as Wolfram tried to avoid him. "Let me come with you!"

Wolfram continued to walk in silence, and Yuuri walked right up to him and took his hand. "This is okay, right?" the Maou whispered to him. Wolfram answered by staring at their hands, then pulling his hand away from Yuuri.

"It's okay if we don't. I mean, we're not kids, Yuuri," he said, a frown upon his pretty features.

Yuuri stopped walking. "You don't want to be around me anymore, do you?"

His fiancé stopped and turned. "Of course I do, Yuuri." He sighed and looked away from Yuuri's face, unable to accept what Yuuri was giving to him.

"Then why are you pushing me away?"

Wolfram surprised him by glaring straight at him.

"Because you're trying too damn hard!"

Yuuri stared at him, and the angry look didn't leave Wolfram's face as he expected it too. There was a little guilt there, but there was no shame or regret in his confession.

"Look," Wolfram continued, "you're doing the same thing with me that you do with everybody else. You're patronizing, and accommodating, and…" He sighed. "And it's not real, if you do it like that."

"Then how am I supposed to do it?"

"You're not SUPPOSED to do anything!"

Yuuri bit back his words, realizing how they'd come out. "I didn't mean, supposed to," he said, trying to amend his words, "What I meant was that I don't know any other way. I mean, this is how it's supposed to be, for boys and girls at least; kissing, holding hands, talking…"

"Well, I'm not a girl, Yuuri," Wolfram said, a smirk on his face.

Yuuri rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean that either!"

They glared at each other, and Wolfram realized that he didn't know why he was mad at Yuuri, either. He thought and thought but he couldn't find a clear answer with Yuuri standing in front of him. Instead, he said, "Hpmh. You just don't know how to be with me, Yuuri."

Wolfram turned to walk away, but Yuuri caught his arm and turned him around. "What do you mean? Do you know how to do this? Look…" he let go of Wolfram's arm, and the blonde prince rubbed his arm as if Yuuri had hurt him. Yuuri sighed and relaxed his posture, trying to show the fight-ready prince that he wasn't going to attack him.

"Look," the Japanese boy continued, "I'm new to this, so if I do something that bothers you, just tell me normally. Don't get all...pissy."

"Pissy?" Wolfram spat. "What kind of language is that?"

"Wolfram, you know what I meant. Just tell me how to do things the way that you'd like them."

Wolfram stared at Yuuri as if he'd grown a second head. "That's the problem, you WIMP!" he shouted at his fiancé. "It's not about you doing things the way I like them! It's about you doing what you want to do to me!"

It was Yuuri's turn to stare at Wolfram, and Wolfram blushed as soon as he'd heard his own words.

What did he want to do to Wolfram?

"Oh," Yuuri said in defeat. "I…I understand." He walked away from his fiancé, back to the room that he shared with Conrad, and Wolfram cursed him under his breath for shattering his pride, for making him admit that he needed something from Yuuri.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

When Yuuri returned to his room, he found that Conrad was not there. Sighing, he realized that that may have been a good thing. He had a lot to think about, and though he did want to ask Conrad for advice, he doubted that Conrad would be able to help him with this kind of problem.

_It's about you doing what you want to do to me!_

Yuuri shuddered as Wolfram's words returned to him. What did he want to do to Wolfram, after all? He had to admit that, two nights ago, he had been able to lie next to Wolfram all night—or rather, he had forced himself to stay close to Wolfram and he had, thankfully, not been kicked or punched during the night—and that Wolfram's body had felt…pleasant.

There was something about Wolfram's smell that attracted him, though. Yuuri had once heard that the sense of smell was the most important sense that humans could use during the act of sex, though Yuuri doubted that—you needed to be able to see what you were doing and who you were doing it to, and if you couldn't FEEL sex, then why do it?—but he had begun to understand the importance of smell.

Wolfram didn't smell like anything in particular…not like flowers or vanilla or perfume or anything…he just smelled like a person. Well, considering the fact that there was no deodorant in this world (something Yuuri had grown accustomed to rather quickly, though he now kept a stick in his pocket whenever he went out in the case of being sucked back into this world) Wolfram actually smelled pretty damned good. His skin felt soft, too, and as for how he looked…Yuuri had known that Wolfram was attractive since the moment he had seen him. It had been a fact, pure and simple. Wolfram was a pretty boy.

Then again, many of the people in this world had called HIM attractive, though Yuuri didn't get what the big deal was. He was a normal Japanese kid; that was what he saw in the mirror everyday. Wolfram had always said that he was attractive, though, even if he said it in a jealous way, or as if he had been forced into admitting it.

_It's about you doing what you want to do to me!_

Did he want to do anything to Wolfram?

_If he was a girl, what would be normal? Wanting to touch his chest, right? What about touching Wolfram's chest? Granted, there's nothing there, but…_

He imagined setting his hands on Wolfram's bare chest, and moving them wherever he wanted. _What would you do next? Maybe another kiss, to get things going…kissing him did feel nice before…_

He kissed his Dream Wolfram, who closed his eyes and stayed still, waiting for him to go on. _What next?_

Yuuri was startled when his Dream Wolfram sat down in front of him, and smiled up at him from his place on the floor. Dream Wolfram lifted up Yuuri's shirt and started to kiss his stomach, and Yuuri felt his fantasy take its toll on his body, afraid to imagine anything more but terrified of stopping. If there were any seeds of this in his mind, he had to plant them; it was for Wolfram.

He was mostly shocked, though, that he wanted this, that it could sound so appealing. Was it because it was dirty, and wrong, to want Wolfram on his knees like that? Did this seem sexier because Wolfram was a guy?

Yuuri drew in a deep breath, and closed his eyes, returning to his fantasy. Dream Wolfram was still on his knees, and he rested his hands on Yuuri's thighs for a moment before unzipping his jeans.

He sat up quickly. There was a certain point he couldn't go past in this fantasy…it was wrong to imagine Wolfram doing those things, he reasoned.

Yuuri was only half-hard by then, but he decided that it was a big step. After all, if someone had told him that he'd get hard over Wolfram two days ago, he would have looked at them like they were crazy.

_It's about you doing what you want to do to me!_

His erection grew harder when he remembered that, and for a moment he was able to imagine Wolfram lying on his bed, naked, with his beautiful green eyes half-open as he looked at him desperately.

"_Yuuri…"_

The Maou shook his head, and the image disappeared. He still had a ways to go before he could make his move.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Murata found Conrad tending to the horses in the hotel's stable.

"Hello, Sir Weller!" he said energetically. The swordsman smiled at him and turned back to the horse whose coat he was brushing.

"It's good to see you, Great Sage," Conrad answered. He paused, then asked, "May I be so bold as to inquire about your plan?"

"My plan?" Murata asked innocently.

Conrad paused again, then faced the Japanese boy who had sat down on a stool close to a stack of hay in the stable. "I assume that you're planning something, concerning those two boys."

"Those two boys? You mean, Shibuya and Wolfram?" Murata smiled at him. "Oh, I'm just sick of how Wolfram always tries to get Shibuya's attention, and Shibuya doesn't respond, so I tried to break the cycle by splitting them up." With that, he leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. "What do you think?"

Conrad looked out the stable door, thinking of his younger half-brother. "I guess it would be good for Wolfram. Maybe he'll see that there are other men in the world."

Murata chuckled. "That's not my plan, really."

"What is your plan?"

"You'll see, when it works out."

Conrad shrugged, then turned his attention back to the horse. "Either way, those two have a lot to talk about." He sighed. "Poor Wolfram…he's in love with a straight boy."

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Wolfram took a walk through the town after his encounter with Yuuri; he hadn't eaten yet, but he would have prepared a fight to food right then.

And look for a fight, he did.

He reasoned that this town probably had its share of muggers and pickpockets, and that, though finding one may have been difficult given the fact that the sun was shining brightly, there still had to be a criminal or cruel person SOMEWHERE, and when he found them, he would be able to work off some of his Yuuri-induced frustration.

_Oh…I understand._

Wolfram kicked a rock. _No, you idiot, you don't understand at all! How can someone who's never fallen in love understand what I feel for you? How can you understand my genuine feelings? You just like to be nice for everyone, and do what's right for everyone, no matter what they want…I don't want to be like that with you! I'm supposed to be different!_

He sneered as the rock bounced down the path he was walking on, and fell at the foot of a man. Wolfram's eyes traveled upwards, and he saw that the man was talking to a girl. Or, rather, accosting to girl. _Whatever, same difference,_ he thought.

Wolfram watched as the large man kept the woman pinned to the wall of a nearby jewelry shop.

"Hey, I've been thinking about you," the man said. His arms were planted firmly on either side of the woman's head.

The woman tried to back away further into the wall, looking over the man's shoulder, trying to pretend that he wasn't there.

Wolfram smirked. _Play time._

"Excuse me, sir," the prince said as he walked up to the pair. The man turned his head and glared at Wolfram over his shoulder.

"What do you want? If it's her, I'm busy with her. You can come back later." And with that, the man spat in Wolfram's direction.

Wolfram stepped out of the way of the saliva and frowned at the man in disgust. "No, my business is with you. Would you say that you're a strong man?"

The man sneered. "What does it look like, you nancy boy?"

The woman took this opportunity to run from her assailant, and as the large man tried to chase after her, Wolfram grabbed his hand and used the man's own momentum to dislocate his shoulder.

"FUCK!" the man shouted, holding his wounded appendage. Wolfram smirked back; this was a move he'd learned from his shoulder training. It had helped that his opponent was large and strong, of course; most of the power that had gone into that attack had come from him, not Wolfram.

Wolfram's green eyes darted around in search of a suitable sword-substitute, and he found a discarded metal pole that was about three feet in length. He lifted it enjoying the weight, as adrenaline flooded into his veins.

The man twisted his arm around, and his shoulder settled back into its socket with a loud POP.

"Ready?" Wolfram asked in a cocky voice. He raised the pole so that it was about even with his torso…it wasn't really like a sword, he thought, but it would probably get rid of the discrepancy in their strengths.

The man glared at him. "What's wrong with you? Are you some kind of punk or something? I should call for the authorities."

Wolfram took a step back, shocked. He had not expected that.

"You wouldn't," he said, trying to call the man's bluff. This man was just a common thug.

The man glared down at him. "Why not? Why would I want to fight some idiot kid like you? You've probably never been in a real fight before." He sneered. "What, did you run away from home? Are you mad at your mommy, so you came out here to beat up the first big guy you could find?" The man spat again. "Don't kid around! Go back home, and don't pick on other people!"

Wolfram stared at the man as he walked away. He was suddenly drained, and he did not move to follow him.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Yuuri took a walk around the hotel, still trying to figure himself out, and he spotted Wolfram after a while. He walked up to his fiancé as he neared the hotel property, and he stared at the now-placated blonde, wondering if those feelings would come back while he was in Wolfram's vicinity.

Wolfram ignored him, and Yuuri sighed. He didn't want to play any push-me, pull-me games with Wolfram, so he decided to try talking to him like a normal person.

"What have you been up to?" he asked his fiancé.

Wolfram glanced at him and shrugged. "Nothing…just…nothing." He stopped walking, trying to signal to Yuuri that he wanted to talk to him.

To his surprise, Yuuri took his hand and led him away from the hotel, into the nearby forest. Wolfram let himself be pulled, though. He wasn't curious, or angry; he still felt defeated, and he didn't know why.

So when Yuuri stopped walking, and pulled him into a sudden kiss, he didn't fight or join in. He simply allowed Yuuri to do whatever he wanted to do to him, and he felt his knees weaken as Yuuri wrapped his arms more firmly around him.

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------


End file.
